To Thine Own Self Be True
by CamillaDeVille
Summary: Genevieve has spent her life dutifully dedicated to those she loves, especially her best friend Sookie Stackhouse. But what will happen when a certain Viking makes her question all that she's ever known? AU. Eric/OC. Rated M for future smut!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First off, I don't own TrueBlood or the SVM! CH and AB are the geniuses, not me. I do own Genevieve though :)

Okay so here's my first dive into fanfic in a really, **really** long time. I've been writing this in my head for weeks and finally gave in and typed it out. Although it **is** AU, I will be using things from both the books and show. Some stuff that I am going to use from the books might be on the show in the future, so be warned! :)

I hope you enjoy!

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Am I talking to a wall? Cause I feel like I'm talking to a wall. Trying to convince Sookie Stackhouse to do anything was literally the equivalent of speaking to a wall. A very, very quiet wall.

"Sook, I get it. You like him. That's wonderful. All I'm saying is he's a vampire. A _fucking_ vampire."

She responded with a glare as she slammed my beer, very rudely I might add, down on my table at Merlotte's.

"We will talk about this later Genevieve. Right now I have a bar full of hungry people who are all thinking that they wanna kick my ass, literally." she huffed as she walked back towards the bar.

Well, she's seriously pissed if she's calling me Genevieve. I let out an audible sigh that I hope she heard before I started sipping the beer she had left. Whatever, I'm not letting her bad mood ruin this beer that I'm sure I'm gonna have to pay for now. What I don't get is why the hell she's getting so touchy over a freakin' _man_. Forget the vampire part, Sookie Stackhouse rarely gets her panties in a bunch over any person, let alone the male variety of the species. Vampire Bill and his lack of thoughts must really be doin' it for her.

Hell she's only known the guy a week. He came waltzing into Merlotte's, looking "broody" and "mysterious" as Sookie put it and she's been acting like a love struck teenager ever since. She says it's cause she can't hear his thoughts and its "peaceful" like "a calm after a storm" but I don't buy it. I think it has more to do with the fact that she can finally get into a guys pants without having hearing what he thinks about her tits. Or hear what he thinks about someone else's tits for that matter.

I had a crash and looked over and saw Sookie drop a tray full of onion rings.

"Genevieve Laurent! Watch your disgusting mouth!" she shouted from across the bar. Everyone else looked at me and wondered what the hell I could have said from across the room that could have gotten Sookie so mad. Oops.

I walked over to her and handed her a twenty.

"Sorry Sookie. Look I'm heading home and I'll see you when you get there okay?" she answered with one of her trademark glares and started to walk off. I grabbed her from behind and gave her the biggest bear hug I could manage.

"I love you, Stacks! Even if you hate meeee!" I yelled in my most sing-songy voice. I saw her resolve crumble as she started to laugh and pushed me away.

"Get off of me Gen. I'll talk to you later."

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I headed down Hummingbird Lane past Sookie's house and into my driveway. I've lived here my whole life and all alone since I was sixteen. I didn't have any parents and I was pretty much orphaned other than my cousin Julien who raised me.

I had seen her some visiting her Gran when we were real little, but it was only for a weekend or a few days during the summer with her parents. Then one day I saw her and her brother Jason come with suitcases full of stuff but no folks.

_I was playing outside that night, climbing one of the trees that was in between my house and Gran's house when I saw Sookie laying on the grass, crying her eyes out. She was around 8 at the time and I was only 6, but I knew I had to help her some way._

_I walked over to where she was and sat down criss-cross apple sauce next to her. "Are you okay?" I asked, watching her tears fall onto the long bladed grass._

_"My mama and daddy died last week." she whispered. I had heard Julien talking to someone on the phone earlier that week and heard saying something about those two little kids and how hard it would be for them, but I never thought twice about it. I realized then he was probably talking to Sookie's Gran._

_"Knock, knock." I said, doing the only thing that came to my young mind- telling a joke. Sookie looked at me like I had grown a second head._

_"What?" she questioned as she sat up._

_"It's a knock-knock joke. I say knock-knock, you say 'whose there'? You know, knock-knock jokes."_

_Sookie didn't seem sold on it yet. She sat up and started drying her tears with the sleeves on her shirt. She sniffled a few times before she tentavily asked, "Whose there?"_

_"Woo."_

_"Woo....who?"_

_"Don't get so excited now... It's just a joke!" I said with a stupid smile plastered across my face. If I had grown a second head earlier, there is no doubt Sookie looked at me like I had grown three more on top of that one. She kept staring at me and then, out of nowhere, she started hysterically laughing._

_Now I knew that was a good joke, but it wasn't that good. Sookie kept on laughing though like it was the best thing in the world. And to be honest, it was a lot easier to see someone laugh than cry, so I didn't say anything. Instead I just kept on laughing with her. And we sat there like that for hours._

_Me telling her jokes and her laughing. It worked. I loved telling jokes and she needed to laugh._

The rest is sort of history. Sookie's been stuck to my side ever since that night. Elementary, middle and high school. Dance, soccer and cheerleading. Christmas, Thanksgiving and birthdays. We managed to go through all of it together. With Sookie and Jason living right next door, we created a little makeshift family; Sookie, Jason, Gran, Julien, myself and Tara and Layfette. Tara and Layfette were cousins who lived not too far away from us in Bon Temps. I had known Layfette my whole life and considered him my only friend till Sookie came into the picture. Layfette introduced us to his cousin Tara, who took a liking to Sookie and that's how it all worked out.

We all hung out, played and grew up together. Sticking together through the good and the bad.

Lafayette caught some shit for being gay when we were young, but he was a fighter and managed to kick the ass of anyone who opened their mouth about him.

Sookie got teased when we were real young because she didn't have a lot of control over her telepathy which led to one or two really bad situations. One time she managed to out the local pastor's affair with his wife's sister, because he couldn't stop thinking about meeting her after Sunday sermon. Sookie was unable to block his dirty thoughts and she eventually screamed out, "Screwing your wife's sister isn't very Jesus-like is it?!"

Can you say _awkward_?

I probably took the teasing the worst out of all of us but it didn't do too much damage to me, I was born with a unusually tough skin. I didn't know my parents, but Julien told me my mom was Creole and my dad was Cuban which was how I got my unique features. Most people couldn't tell whether I was white, black or hispanic which led to more than one nasty name getting thrown my way. On top of that, I was admittedly weird growing up. I didn't like little kid games and toys, and I absolutely hated the stupid clothes they expected little girls to wear. If it had flowers or bright colors I hated it. If it involved dolls, dress-up or make believe I wanted nothing to do with it. By the time we all got to high school and all my clothing consisted of a pair of Doc Martens, jeans and a black t-shirt. No matter the occasion or the temperature which lead to one too many _'freak'_ catcalls in the halls.

Tara and Jason got off pretty easy cause they were the golden children among us. Jason had his good looks and Tara had her smarts and people tended to leave them be cause there wasn't much to make fun of them for.

As a whole all of us took some shit for hanging out and being so close. When we were young it still wasn't popular for people of different ethnicities to hang out and be friends like we were. Gran and Julien squashed most of those problems though, not letting us deal with too much. We all went throguh bad stuff, but our lives were pretty good because we all had each other.

Things started heading south for me when I was 16, when Julien was killed in a car accident. I didn't talk for two months and failed my junior year of high school, mostly because I was so incredibly shocked. That kind of thing shouldn't have happened to _someone like me_. Someone like me should have been able to stop a fucking drunk driver from t-boning Julien's car. But I didn't. The guilt alone suffocated me till I thought I was gonna die. I had holed myself up in my house for those two months, leaving only for the funeral which Lafayette, Sookie and Tara had to physically dress me for. I only ate when I was absolutely starving and only spoke when I felt I had to other choice.

Eventually everyone decided I needed an intervention and they made me move in with Sookie, Jason and Gran. I did and stayed there till I was 18, eventually going back to school and doing my best to deal with Julien's death.

I had been sitting here reminiscing about life for so long that I almost had a heart attack when I heard Sookie open the door. She was still wearing her Merlotte's uniform and she didn't look to be in better mood. _Great. I started to say something when she raised her hand motioning me to stop. I hadn't even started yet._

"Look Gen, before you say anything at all, I been thinking. I know you don't like the idea of me having a relationship with Bill. And I completely understand and respect that." Oh. Well maybe my night will be easier than I thought. I started to say something when she raised her hand again.

"Wait Gen. Look I respect it, but to be quite honest with you. I don't give a shit about it." she said, raising her voice.

"Um. Well Sookie, thanks for the honesty. But what I don't understand is _why the hell _your giving me all this attitude? I'm just looking out for you." I said, starting to get angry. I hadn't been a bitch up to this point, so I'd be damned if she unloaded her shit on me.

"NO GENEVIEVE. No. I'm sick of every person in my life telling me what's right and wrong! You, Sam, Tara, Jason, Layfayette, Gran. All of you just love telling me what to do! I'm not a child!" she screamed.

Where in the hell was this coming from? Obviously everyone else had lended their opinion on Bill, which clearly was a bad idea. Whether or not her frustration was fair, I was in no mood to be a punching bag tonight. She could use her undead boyfriend for that.

"If you plan on convincing everyone your not a child, I suggest you start acting like an adult." I said as icily as possible. I needed to get control of this situation before I let my anger get the best of me.

"Sookie, no one wants to run your life. I could give a shit who you date. I'm just worried okay? You have no idea what your dealing with."

She started laughing, which I knew was a bad sign. "And you do?" she asked bitterly. I couldn't help but laugh at that. If she only knew...

"When you decide you want to treat me like an adult and accept my decisions? We'll talk. Until then, don't bother."

With that she slammed the door and was gone. Well that went beautifully! I really wanted to be angrier then I was but I just couldn't. I could see where she was coming from even though I thought she was acting childish.

After all this drama all I wanted to do was sleep and not have to deal with anything. I turned off all the lights in the house, headed up to my room and jumped into bed before I even realized what this could possibly mean for me.

If Bill really wanted a relationship with Sookie and she wanted one with him, I was powerless to stop it. When Sookie has wanted to be reckless with other things in her life, I've been able to easily diffuse because it was just me against her. But now...

_Shit. _

I decided to be Scarlett O'Hara and deal with everything another day, because tonight I needed to sleep. It was just as my eyes drifted closed, as I seesawed between the world of the sleeping and the waking that I heard..

'POP!'

"Wake up darling, we have some business to attend to." I heard a voice say from the corner of my room.

If I thought I had a hard time dealing with Sookie, karma was promptly giving me a huge smack on the ass to gain perspective. Dealing with Sookie was absolutely _nothing_ compared to dealing with my new guest, her fairy-prince great-grandfather Niall.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Don't own em, just playing with them all except Gen! _

As we popped into Niall's office I let out an audible shudder as Niall bellied out a laugh.

"Surely you must be used to that by now dear. It's been more than twenty years," he said as he took a seat behind his large oak desk. I scoffed and took a seat directly across from him.

"Sorry Niall, that form of transportation will always be weird to me. Anyways, what do we have to discuss?"

I was trying damnedest to stay as normal as possible but I knew exactly why I was there. Niall had come to me a couple of days ago and warned me to keep Sookie away from the vampire.

I tried explaining to him that Sookie was already hot on the guy and wasn't liable to just walk away cause I told her he was "scary", but Niall would have none of it. He said he'd give me a week to clear up the problem, but apparently he's gotten impatient.

"Is Sookie currently at Bill Compton's house?" he asked with a sardonic smile. We both know he knows the damn answer so I don't know why we have to play this game, but whatever.

"Yes." I replied. "I assume she is. I tried talking to her but she wouldn't listen." Niall began to interrupt before I stopped him.

"Look Niall, before you go freaking out on me I already told you, Sookie isn't going to change her mind about this guy. She likes him and that's that. If you really think he's going to try to hurt her I suggest you let me use magic, because Bill isn't going anywhere just cause I say so."

Niall shook his head, stood up from his desk and walked over to the huge bookshelf that spanned the whole length of back wall.

"We decided long ago to only use magic on Sookie in extreme circumstances. While I worry about her involvement in the vampire world, I don't believe we have come to that point yet. Bill is a young vampire, he should not be able to sense that she is part fae."

I let myself relax a little knowing Niall didn't want to use magic. Even though I have to keep a lot from Sookie, the idea of using magic on her seemed so... _wrong_.

"I don't think it's time for us to stress about it yet. Let Sookie have her fun with Bill and we will deal with the rest when it comes." I said, hoping Niall would approve.

"That sounds sufficient." he answered while picking up a small clear globe and walking towards me. He took a seat in the vacant chair next to mine and stared directly into my eyes.

"Though Genevieve I would like to remind you, it is your job to take care of Sookie. In fact, it is your life's work to make sure she stays safe and hidden. Your sole reason for being. If anything were to happen to her.. Your purpose would cease to exist." he said while palming the small globe.

I felt the tears stinging my eyes as I willed myself to get control. I wasn't sure what upset me more, the fact that Niall essentially threatened my life or that he questioned my ability to keep Sookie safe. He handed me the small globe and I stared intently at it.

Flashes of my life were playing inside the globe, like a small movie. I saw lots of familiar scenes from my past, most of them involving Sookie. Eventually the scenes stopped playing and a white cloud filled the globe.

"It still stops?" I asked Niall, suddenly yearning to know more about myself. He smiled as he took the globe from my hands.

"Yes. We have yet to see any future glimpses of your life." he seemed to ponder this himself before setting the globe back on the shelf.

"It is time for you to leave Genevieve. I implore you to take my words seriously." I simply nodded in response. In a situation like this, what else could I say?

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By the time I got back to my house it was 10 in the morning. Wait, what?! I hated traveling between this world and the fairy world. To say the time zones were different would be the understatement of the century. I took a much needed deep breath as I sat down at my kitchen table. I needed a game plan to get through the day. I was supposed to work from 12 till 5 today at_ 'Die or Dine'_, the new diner right outside of Bon Temps.

It was one of the new vamp themed places that had popped up all over the place. It was kitschy and extremely over-the-top and rarely had any real vampires in it. But the soda was dyed red and there was ketchup on just about _everything_ to look like blood and people loved it. It certainly wasn't the place I wanted to start a career but it payed the bills and entertained me all the same.

I closed my eyes and tried to see if I could find Sookie's thoughts. I tried for a few minutes but came up blank. I then changed my focus to find her feelings, which were usually easier to sift through. I first felt nervousness, then excitement, then fear. Hm. I wonder what she was up to.

I knew I had to try make some kind of peace with her so I ran upstairs to get my phone to send her a text. I know Sookie and if she's scared about something she's gonna want to talk about it, but I had to butter her up first.

**Me (10:06): i luv u bitch.**

**Sook (10:07): I know....**

**Me (10:07): whats goin on? U work today?**

**Sook (10:08): ughhhh i wish i wasnt so mad at u. i need advice!! UGH!**

**Me (10:08): k well.. ill give u advice n u can stay mad ok? whats up?**

**Sook (10:09): im goin to fangtasia tonight.... :| **

Oh _shit._ This was not good. This was so, so not good. Bill was one matter, but if Sookie went to Fangtasia there was a huge chance an older vamp could sense she was fae. I knew the owner of Fangtasia was also a Sheriff which almost guaranteed he was really freakin old. Great. I had to play it cool though.

**Me (10:10): ohhh..cool cool. why :| ? and how come ur goin there?**

**Sook (10:11): idk. bill owes the owner a favor n he said itd be a good place to ask about dawn :(**

Dawn was a girl who worked with Sookie at Merlotte's that had been found dead last week. The cops had no leads, except for Jason because he was a constant fuck-buddy of hers. I knew that they had no evidence on Jason and didn't really believe he did anything. And I knew, thanks to Sookie reading his mind, that Jason was innocent.

The only thing they did know was that Dawn had fang marks in her neck, so they assumed a vamp went a little too crazy and killed her. The girl was found strangled in bed, with a pair of fang marks on her neck but all her blood still in her body. Naive humans. To even think a vampire could kill without draining was absurd.

I knew this but obviously Sookie and Bill didn't. I didn't plan on sharing that bit of information either. Damn, Bill really was a young vampire. I idly wondered what the story of his maker was, since he didn't seem to privy to the customs or workings of vamps. I jumped when I heard my phone vibrate across the table.

**Sook (10:15): im kinda scared gen. bill said the owner is NOT someone to consider a friend. but i gotta go up and ask for help :O he's 1000 yrs old!! **

**Me (10:15): want me to go with u guys?**

I had to laugh at Sookie's innocence when it came to vampires. While 1000 was old and considered to be a very long life, it certainly wasn't shocking or unheard of.

I knew whether or not Sookie was mad at me we were best friends, and me being there with her would probably make her feel better.

**Sook (10:16): will u b nice? **

**Me (10:16): YES. itll b cool. bonding experience with ur bff and ur.....bf? haha ;)**

**Sook (10:17): my house at 7. and u better be ready to apologize! **

So I'd be spending my night groveling and searching for a murderer at Fangtasia. Excellent.

_A/N: So I know your probably wondering who and what Genevieve is but don't worry, that will all come soon! Also, Viking alert for the next chapter! :)_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I don't own SVM or True Blood. Huge thanks to those that reviewed and put my story on alerts last night! It's very exciting and pushes me to write even more. So if you're curious about what's going to happen next, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! It's the food that feeds my muse and the Viking :) _

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It was 7 o'clock on the dot as I started walking across my yard to Sookie's house. Work had been uneventful, minus the Fellowship of the Sun wacko who came in yelling "GOD HATES FANGS!"

A young girl who was dressed like a fang-banger in training promptly dumped her **Bloody Bloody Ice Cream Sundae** on his head and that was the end of my excitement.

Speaking of fang-bangers, I seriously hoped I didn't look like one. I was wearing my favorite pair of gray ankle boots, low-rise black skinny jeans and a v-neck white shirt that left a couple inches of my stomach hanging out. I topped it all off with my black leather jacket and a long silver chain that held one small pearl on it.

My curly black hair was in a tight pony-tail with my bangs straightened and pulled back to give that little humped look at the top. My makeup was light, with just some mascara and black eyeliner. My idea was to try to not stick in or out. Hopefully we'd just blend in and get out of there.

It wasn't until after an energy drink, a cup of coffee and the end of lunch rush at work that I even considered my own safety at Fangtasia. I was worried that a vamp might sense Sookie's fae blood, but what if someone could sense me?

I had never had that problem before, but I'd also never been around very old vamps. I would imagine all would be fine unless one of them tasted or smelled my blood, which I was quite sure would not happen.

I debated on knocking on the door to Sookie's but instead just walked right in. I knew Gran was home and I didn't want her meddling and worrying if Sookie and were fighting because I knocked instead of just walking in.

The sun had already set so I thought Bill would already be there. What I didn't think was that he'd be sitting on the couch with Gran, laughing up a storm like they were some kind of old friends. His hand was on her knee for god sakes!

I tried my best to swallow any smart ass comments and instead decided to take the high road and not judge the guy before I even got to know him.

"Bonjour Gran! How are you?" I asked bending down and placing a kiss on either side of Gran's cheek.

"Excellent my dear! Have you met the wonderful Mr. Compton?" she asked, every word filled with a childlike glee. I think I might gag its so freakin sweet how enamored she is with him. I managed to fake my most saccharin of grins as I lent my hand to Bill.

I knew it wasn't in vampire customs to shake hands, but he didn't seem very vampire like so I took a chance. It was obviously the right chance to take because his eyes sparkled as he stood and shook my hand. He probably missed these kinds of human interactions.

"It is my pleasure to meet you Ms. Laurent. You have no idea how much I've heard about you!"

"The feeling is mutual Bill. Sookie hasn't been able to stop talking about you."

Now I kind of felt like an ass because he really did seem excited to meet me, so I lathered on the sweet talk. He looked like a kid in a candy store at this revelation and I left him and Gran to gush over each other. I was way too tired to deal with their collective chipperness. I headed to the kitchen to try and find something to give me energy before I fell asleep standing up.

I grabbed a Coke and a mostly empty pint of ice cream and made my way upstairs to see if Sookie was ready. When I walked in her room she was sitting on the bed, completely dressed and ready, staring at her hands. She didn't even glance up when I sat down next to her.

"Ice cream?" I offered as I handed her my spoon. She scoffed and looked at my outfit.

"You like nice" she commented as she got up and started pacing the room. She was wearing a tight, white floral dress that exposed her neck and chest. She looked like vampire bait. Awesome.

"I'm nervous Gen." she said as she looked me in the eye for the first time all night. I could feel her nervousness before I even walked into the house so I wasn't shocked. But I was surprised that when I looked into her eyes she seemed scared.

"Don't be. It's just a club Sook. If your not comfortable, we can leave."

I instantly felt her calm and felt a twinge of guilt in giving her false comfort. I knew damn well if the Sheriff wanted us to stay, we'd have to stay. But there was no need to stress her about something that might not happen. I finished the ice cream and took a swig of the Coke as she put her cellphone into her clutch. As I stood up to head to the door, Sookie placed her hands at my shoulders and gave me a soft smile.

"I'm sorry you know?"

"I know. And I am too. But I thought I was the one that needed to apologize tonight?"

She shook her head, laughed and linked our arms together as we headed out of her room. Fangtasia, here we come.

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So a forty minute car ride with your best friend and her new vampire boyfriend was apparently an awkward situation to be in.

We had a a short conversation about Gran and how she thought we were all going to the movies but no one had said a word since then and that was over 20 minutes ago. I was trying to figure out both Sookie and Bill's feelings but all I kept feeling was apprehension, which did nothing but form knots in my stomach so I shut both of them out. I was curious why Bill was so nervous but I honestly didn't have enough energy to dig to find an answer. I desperately wanted to take a nap, but by the time I got comfortable in the back of Bill's car we were only a few minutes away from Fangtasia. I really hoped some combination of alcohol, True Blood and a public place sparked some conversation between the three of us or I was in for an even longer night. Once we pulled into Fangtasia's parking lot, the only thought that seemed to be coursing through my head was,

TACKY!

My god this place was so tacky! I almost starting giggling at the shear cheesiness of the place. Obviously with a name like Fangtasia I really wasn't expecting some fine establishment but from what I heard about this place it was quite important in the local vamp community so I assumed it would be more, _official looking_. Instead of the reserved looking bar I imagined, I was met with a little hole in the wall with a flashing red sign reading **'FANGTASIA'** with a smaller solid sign that read '**The Bar With a BITE!**'. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, vampires had a gaudy way about them and Fangtasia was no different.

As we got out of the car Bill seemed to latch himself onto Sookie, both for his security and hers. I had to respect how proper and gentle he seemed with her. They walked in front of me, arm in arm, while I stayed back. I was willing my nerves to calm down but something was setting my internal senses off like crazy. As soon as I got out of the car, I felt an unfamiliar knot in the pit of my stomach. I literally felt like I was going to be sick as we reached the front doors of the club. We had bypassed the line and gone straight to the woman who I assumed was the "bouncer." She was a beautiful vampire who was dressed in full out dominatrix garb, pleather corset and gloves included. She gave all three of us a fanged smile as she ushered us into the club.

"Bill, so nice of you to join us. And you brought two wonderful human _specimens_. My master will be so pleased!" She sounded positively giddy and I couldn't help but snort. I swear all this cheerfulness seemed to be contagious.

As she walked us to a small booth I noticed she was looking Sookie and I up and down like we were pieces of meat. I know part of it was her playing the part of menacing vampire, but it seemed to be more than that. As we took our seats I gave her a sly smile coupled with a wink and watched as her fangs extended even farther. Ah, Dom Lady most certainly set off my gaydar. Most vampires don't have an "orientation", rather preferring to get pleasure however possible. But they certainly had preferences, and Dom Lady (my new nickname for her) certainly seemed to prefer the females. Bill fangs were full extended by now and his grip on Sookie tightened at Dom Lady's comment about her master. The knot in my stomach seemed to further tighten itself when I thought about meeting him.

"Thank you Pam. Can you please tell Eric we are here? My guests have both had longs days and do not wish to stay out very late tonight."

Long day? He had no idea. Pam, as I now know her, seemed slightly miffed at Bill's curt response and simply walked away with a snarl. Gosh, vampires are so weird. They have more customs and rules they have to abide by then any culture or civilization I've ever heard about. I had no doubt that Pam was pissed that Bill was trying to give a time table to his superior, which thinking about it did seem kind of rude. An employee would never _tell_ their boss which hours they would work, so I suppose it's all a matter of perception.

A waitress was already at our table asking for our drink orders and Sookie ordered a gin and tonic while Bill ordered a True Blood. I decided to just get a Coke since my reaction to alcohol varied on my mood and state of mind. I was afraid if I got a drink it would make me so sleepy I fell asleep at the table.

I glanced around the club, fully taking in my surroundings for the first time. The walls were upholstered in red velvet and all the fixtures from the tabletops to the tile were jet black. The lights were eerily low, except for the spotlights that shined on every table. I honestly thought it looked more like a sex club rather than a bar, but whatever floats these people's boat. Speaking of the people, it was an interesting clientele to say the least. The low lighting made the vampires stick out like a sore thumb (which was the point I assumed) and I'd say they comprised about 1/3 of the patrons. Some of them were dancing by themselves, garnering the attention of those around them. While others simply made conversation with the awe struck fang bangers.

Once the waitress brought us our drinks, Sookie and Bill seemed to relax into each other. We started idle chit-chat and I found myself quite impressed with Bill. He was genuinely sweet and much more forward thinking than I ever expected him to be. He told Sookie and I that he believed mainstreaming was the only feasible options for vampires now that they were out of the coffin and that he hoped one day all other vampires would come to the same conclusion.

He was cute, charming and seemed to be perfectly matched with Sookie. He spent all night with his arms wrapped around her, occasionally stroking her arm or hair and my heart melted at the sight of them. I honestly couldn't remember Sookie ever looking this content and happy around a man. I reached across the table, grabbed one of her hands and gave it a light squeeze. As soon as I did it her eyes began to water up and she gave me a huge smile.

"Thank you Gen."

I smiled at both her and Bill and relaxed into my seat. I was giving them by blessing and she knew it. Not that Sookie needed it either way, but I knew it would make her feel better to have it. For the first time in days, I felt waves of contentment rushing through me. Unfortunately, they left just as quickly as the arrived. It felt like someone had shocked me and every nerve ending in my body stood at attention. The knot in my stomach grew and churned until it almost took my breath away. My hands clenched to the table as I whipped my head around to see what the hell was making my body react like this.

My eyes scanned the room and I saw nothing, which only accelerated the stress coursing through my body. Then like some scene out of a movie, I saw him. A door slammed in a dark hallway as he made his way out into the club. All the music and talking seemed to dissipate and time moved slower than it ever had in my life. It seems ridiculous but it felt like he made it to us in only a few long strides. By the time his hands touched the top of the table my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. I was breathing heavy and didn't know what the hell was happening, but I just wanted it all to stop.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, it seemed like someone had heard because I instantly calmed. The music of the club returned to my ears and time seemed to speed up as I looked forward and saw Sookie and Bill staring at the man with fearful eyes. I could feel the man staring directly at me but I couldn't force myself to look away from them until he spoke.

"I am Eric Northman, and I've been waiting for you for a long time."


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Thanks again for all those who read and put me on alerts! Make sure to review if you want me to keep this going. Yay for more Viking! _

All the air in my lungs was expelled with a huff. Who the hell was this guy? Why has he been waiting for me? And why did I calm down all the sudden? I wanted to say something but my mouth felt dry and my tongue felt too big for my mouth. Luckily, Bill decided to take charge of the situation.

"Eric, this is Sookie." he said, with his teeth clenched and his lips terse. Sookie looked up at him and Eric gaze shifted to her. She bowed her head to him a little, obviously unsure of how to act. His eyes narrowed at her action and he growled in response. The energy surrounding the table was palpable. Most of the customers had their attention directed this way when Eric walked out, but now they couldn't tear their eyes away. I felt their gaze on us and my anxiety started again. As if he sensed my stress Eric's head snapped back to face me.

"And who is this?" he asked while looking at me. As he brought his hand of to touch my face I assume, and I snapped out of my Eric-induced trance. Who the hell did he think he was? Touching my face like I was his.. _lover_ or something. Gross. I grabbed his finger before he had a chance to reach my face. Before I even registered his reaction he was in my face snarling. I noticed through my peripheral vision that Sookie and Bill were scrambling to get out of the booth.

"Eric, this is Genevieve. She is Sookie's best friend and please take my apologies for her actions. She does not know our customs." Bill pleaded.

"Yeah, so get out of her face!" Sookie added harshly. Eric pretended not to hear either one of them and chose not to move. His eyes traveled the length of my face more than once before he offered a wry smile.

"Is this true? Do you not know the ways of my people _Genevieve_?"

He seemed to be trying my name out to see how it felt against his tongue because he enunciated each letter as it left his mouth. I was starting to get mad about this whole situation. What the hell did this guy want with me? He obviously knew who Sookie was since Bill had introduced her as if he had mentioned her name already, so I'd really like to know why he was in **my** face. Though who was I going to kid? I knew damn well that you weren't supposed to just touch a vamp without their permission, but the guy was gonna touch me first! I honestly didn't like lying so I decided to not answer his question. I simply gave him my artificial smile and shrugged my shoulders.

He responded with one of his own. My breath hitched in my throat and suddenly the knot in my stomach returned, but in a whole new way. This man, for lack of a better was absolutely gorgeous. True, he was menacing and slightly scary but couple that with this dirty smile and _goddamn _he was a work of art.

Never in my whole life, had I ever felt this way just from a look or a smile. He chuckled, and honest to god _chuckle_ before standing up straight and throwing a slow and deliberate wink my way. _Oh, my, god_. I felt a throb between my legs and kind of wished I could die right then. I had never been the kind of girl to get weak in the knees over a guy and I wasn't about to start now. Fortunately for me, Eric decided to finally acknowledge Bill and Sookie and he slowly lead them back to his office. I stayed glued to my chair until I noticed Sookie motioning me to follow them.

As I walked into Eric's office he gestured for me to close the door before sitting down behind his desk. I was surprised at how modest his office seemed to be. There were shelfs along the wall that were filled with extra True Blood, alcohol and other things for the bar. I noticed some pictures and diploma type things on the wall but didn't feel like pushing any more of my luck by trying to see what they were. Eric's desk was nondescript and mostly empty other than a calendar and a slick computer monitor. Two small chairs were seated directly in front of the desk while a black leather sofa was against the nearest wall. Eric signaled for Bill and Sookie to sit in the chairs, so I took the liberty of sitting on the couch.

"So Bill, to what do I owe this visit?" Eric asked as he reclined in his chair. I didn't let myself take notice till right now but he was wearing a **very** tight black tank top that showed off the developed muscles of his arms and shoulders. While I wasn't complaining about staring at his arms I found myself drawn to the necklace that adorned his neck. It looked old which wasn't a shocker, and it seemed to be a plain copper chain. I couldn't tell what the pendant was; it looked like a half moon or possibly some kind of talon or maybe...

"GENEVIEVE!"

Oh, well that didn't sound good. I looked over to Sookie and BIll where they were both staring at me keenly looking like they were waiting for me to say something.

"I'm sorry.. what?"

Bill and Sookie both looked at me pleadingly while Eric simply laughed again. For such a big bad vamp he sure did seem to laugh about a lot.

"Gen, _Mr. Northman_ here was asking why you decided to come here with us?" Sookie responded quite rudely. Mr. Northman? Eric Northman. Interesting. I wonder how much of the conversation I missed.

"Oh, sorry. I zoned out there for a sec. It's been a long day."

"I would not worry about it. Many people find it hard to focus in my presence."

Oh hell no. This guy had to be kidding me! It was one thing to be confident, but to be that freakin cocky was just ridiculous.

"Oh well that sounds like an absolute torture" he smirked again, "but I assure you Mr. Northman, my thoughts are never littered with things" I paused for effect and smiled, "like you." He glared at me for a few moments before turning his attention back to Sookie and Bill.

"So I have your little, _girlfriend_ and her _friend_, both of whom are disgusted with me. Yet here you all sit, obviously wanting something." He began slowly his drumming his fingers along the edge of his desk. He was beginning to look bored with us and I knew someone needed to get control of the situation fast. Just on cue Sookie cleared her throat and began.

"There's a undercover cop in your bar right now who is going to find a female vamp feeding off someone in the women's bathroom. In about two minutes he's going to run in there, catch them and get this place shut down." I snorted at Sookie's approach. She was going to try to connive him into helping her? I'm sure this was going to go well.

"And how would you know this information?" While Eric's voice remained calm his body seemed to stiffen at Sookie's words. Sookie gave her most sneering of smiles while Bill looked on, obviously impressed with Sookie's forwardness to his sheriff.

"I don't see how that matters right now since you only have about a minute to do something." Eric seemed to ponder this for a moment before whipping out his phone and sending a text. Bill began to speak but Eric gave him a very brief, "Hush", followed by a glare and that was the end of that.

A couple agonizingly slow minutes passed before Pam came waltzing into Eric's office with a smile on her face.

"Elena was indeed feeding off a fang banger in a stall sire. I cleaned up the problem though." Eric considered this for a moment before asking Pam to leave. Great. Things were even more awkward than before. I'm sure Eric was racking his brain trying to think of a way Sookie could know this. I debated trying to read him before quickly shooting down the idea. He was obviously really old he probably knew how to keep his emotions and thoughts in check, especially now with Sookie being suspicious.

"What are you?" he asked suddenly, with more force than I had noticed all night. It shocked me that he didn't raise his voice, though he really didn't need to. His voice and body held enough power that yelling would have been inconsequential. The now famous knot in my stomach doubled at his tone. Looks like we were finally going to meet **Sheriff **Eric Northman.

"I asked you a question and I will tell you now it is in your best interest to answer it. Truthfully." His eyes were glazed over and dark. Sookie needed to say something now, before things got worse. I glanced towards her and noticed she was still sitting tall, feigning strength. She was scared shitless though. I needed to help her. I couldn't let Eric find out she was a telepath. If he did, he would want to use her until he found a better toy to play with. Niall's words from the night before were playing over and over in my brain.

"I told her." Oh. I have no idea why I said that. It was honestly the first thing that came to mind so I suddenly blurted it out, but by judging everyones reaction it probably wasn't the best choice I've ever made. Eric's death glare was pointed at me now and Bill and Sookie were looking like little fish with their jaws gaping open.

"So I told her. But that's not why we're here. Sookie needs some information on a friend of hers that was killed. Can you help her?" Eric visibly relaxed in his chair and the smirk returned; he knew the ball was in his court. Sookie turned back and forth between him and me, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Show him the picture Sook." Sookie snapped back into reality, grabbed the picture from her clutch and handed it to Eric. He stared at it for much longer than necessary before finally handing it back.

"I will help you Sookie, but on one condition" I should have seen this one coming, vampires never did anything unless it was on their own terms. "I would like to discuss the matter with your friend." He paused to look me in the eye. "Alone." Oh goodness gracious.

"But-" Sookie started to protest but I interrupted.

"Deal." I answered before anyone she had a chance to argue. Eric grinned like a man who had just gotten his way. Rightly so I supposed. Sookie looked positively appalled. She stood up and was making her way towards Eric when I jumped up and stood in front of her.

"You are not doing this Genevieve," Sookie murmured quietly. "this is _my_ problem, not yours." She had a point there but I knew I could keep her safe if she was away from Eric.

"I _am_ doing this Sookie." I responded with a whisper. Why we were talking in whispers was beyond me; Eric and Bill could certainly hear us. This conversation would be easier to have if I projected my thoughts to her but I just wanted to get this over with. "I'll be fine. I'm just gonna ask him about Dawn and then get the hell out of here." Sookie seemed to accept her defeat and stalked over to Bill.

"We will be right outside Gen okay? _Right. Out. Side._ Incase of anything," she was making sure all of us knew exactly what she was saying, "we will be here in a flash. Okay?" I simply nodded. Sookie made it obvious she thought Eric would try something, I didn't feel the need to say anything else. I watched as both her and Bill exited the room.

"Who are you Genevieve?" He had gotten up from his desk and was now standing directly behind me. His voice had dropped to a lower, more personal level and I felt a chill run through my body.

"I really don't know how that matters right now Eric." I walked back towards the couch and took a seat again. I couldn't let him affect me, at least not visibly. He looked over at me and smiled.

"I do believe you brought it up. By telling me about the police officer?" Okay, well he had me there. I was trying to think of a good response, but he started to talk before I could.

"What do you know about vampires?" What the hell. Where was he going with this? Why had I even told Sookie I'd come here? I needed to figure out how to handle this before he caught me in a lie.

"About as much as shown on T.V. Bill is the first one I've ever had a conversation with." Hopefully the Southern Belle routine would fool him.

"Well I wish to share this bit of vampire information with you" I nodded slightly, "when a vampire senses something can be an asset, they covet it. And then they seize it." He began slowing walking towards me, like a lion stalking its prey. "And a human who _magically_ knew something I didn't?" He stopped right beside me and crouched down slightly. "Well that is an asset."

"Well, I thank you for that bit of information. Though the last time I busted out my dictionary _assets_ usually didn't refer to _people_." I shot back. He seemed pleased with my attitude, which led me to feel more uneasy than before. "What are you?" he asked once more with a cheeky smile. He stared at me steadily and for the first time all night I let myself stare back at him.

His were blue and icy and so incredibly magnetic it was absolutely terrifying. They should have been empty, cold and disinterested but instead they seemed playful and curious and _my goodness_ what the hell was I doing. I needed to get out of here, **now**. I looked away before I started speaking again, trying to erase the look of his eyes from my memory.

"I'm tired. Exhausted actually. And I just wanna go home. Do you have any information that can help Sookie or not?"

After hearing nothing but silence for several beats I gathered my purse and headed towards the door. As I reached for the door knob actually thought I might have gotten out of there scot-free. I was wrong again. Eric had used his vampire-speed and made his way in front of me to block the door. For a moment I debated trying to reach behind him to open the door anyways, but I quickly dismissed that thought. I wasn't going anywhere until he wanted me to. _Great_.

"What do you want from me Mr. Northman? I'd really like to leave." I was pleading with him at this point. Ignoring any of these feelings Eric was igniting, I honestly was exhausted. Fighting with Sookie, jumping from this world to the fairy world, working and now all this stuff had me beyond exhausted.

Eric loomed over me and stared again. When he raised his hand to my face I probably should have been scared but I wasn't. I knew he saw me as an "asset" now and he wasn't about to kill that so quickly. I let myself fall back into his gaze as he let a finger run from my eyebrow down to my chin.

"You seemed to be stressed. Is there anything I can do to.. alleviate your tension?" he asked with his most audacious smile yet. This vampire was infuriating.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me! Do you honestly think I'm gonna just drop to my knees for you? Sorry bucko, but your out of your mind." I stated as calmly as possible. I already knew he liked when I responded with anger, so I tried to relax even as my insides were pulsating with pure rage...

Ok and maybe lust, but it was mostly rage and I wanted nothing more than to smack him for being so presumptuous and downright skeevy.

He seemed slightly deflated by my response, but quickly recovered. "Who said anything about being on your knees? I'd happily dirty my own to please you." **Oh my god**. That was all kinds of unfair. He mouth literally dripped of sex. Each word let left his mouth and such purpose and conviction. That was a skill I'd like to learn. God I needed to control myself.

"Eric" I began slowly, "Sookie has lost a friend and just wants information. I don't mean any harm. And that thing about the cop? I just wanted to prove we weren't here to manipulate you, we really just want some answers." He continued to stare at me while taking a few steps back.

"I have tasted Sookie's friend. I do not remember when. She was not," he paused to look me up and down before continuing "as memorable as others." I willed my knees to stay strong and hold me up after that.

"How did she die?" He asked me, snapping me out of yet another trance. I really needed to get control of that.

"She was found strangled in her bed. With fang marks on her neck." Eric scoffed at my implication.

"A vampire strangling a woman? Highly unlikely. Why strangle someone and let all that delicious blood go to waste?" At least he confirmed my thoughts on the situation. I had done what Sookie wanted, so now it was time to get the hell outta dodge. And far, far away from Eric Northman.

"Well thank you Eric. Sookie and myself really appreciate your help." I turned around and opened the door, mostly expecting Eric to stop me. When I saw Bill and Sookie sitting at the table and didn't hear Eric coming up behind me, I was shocked. And completely mortified. I knew if he wasn't following me now, he was simply waiting for a better opportunity.

Sookie looked relieved to see me and immediately got up to give me a strong hug. Bill quickly followed her, got up from the table and ushered us towards the door. I guess that was our trip to Fangtasia. As soon as we got into the car Sookie's nerves must have exploded at once because she started talking a mile a minute. After I answered all her questions about what happened with Eric, she quickly went on a tirade about the way he acted and how out of line he was. Bill tried to calmly explain just what a Sheriff was and how Eric was actually known as one of the most honorable in America. I let them go back and forth the whole ride home, while I stayed quiet in the back. While tonight had been eventful, I knew it wouldn't compare to what was imminent now.

I knew sooner or later, Eric Northman would be coming for me.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Wow, this chapter took forever to post! My apologies for that, but real life sort of took over for a while. Lucky for me though, I have about three full weeks free that I hope to fill with writing! I hope you enjoy this chapter and a huge thanks to those who reviewed and put my story on alerts! _

* * *

It had been a week since my little visit to Fangtasia and I felt like I was walking on eggshells. I was so sure Eric would be coming to investigate me that I'd spent all week looking over my shoulder. It was starting to get ridiculous and entirely too time consuming. I switched my work schedule so I could work the night shift and sleep during the day to avoid any nighttime meetings with Eric, but it didn't calm my nerves any. To add on top of that Sookie and Bill were "officially" dating, whatever the hell that meant. Sookie said that Bill had sort of pledged his love to her, which led to more than one of those "girl talk" conversations that I had never been very good at. Part of me had expected to see Niall at some point too, but all was quiet on that front. I felt like I was playing the waiting game everywhere I went and it wasn't fun at all.

The sun had just begun to set on my only day off this week and I needed to find something to do to calm my nerves. Sookie, Tara and Lafayette were all working at Merlotte's, but I really didn't feel like sitting around the bar all night. Jason was probably at home, but with my luck he'd be entertaining one of his lady friends and I could do without dealing with that tonight.

I decided to stop being such a baby and just stay home. He was a vampire for god sakes so it's not like he'd be breaking down my door without an invitation anytime soon. Once I conceded to spend the night at home, I grabbed my laptop from my room and walked down to my kitchen to do some investigating. I was curious about Fangtasia and okay, really curious about Eric so I decided to put my googling skills to good use. It was a simple enough job because on my first search of Fangtasia an official website came up.

As it opened I realized that the homepage was a huge picture of Eric, _shirtless_, giving the camera his best mischievous smile. Before I even had time to get a good look I exited out of it, because really? That was all kinds of sexiness. And I could not find Eric sexy. And I certainly couldn't find a vampire sheriff sexy. That would be wrong. Really, _really_ wrong. After having an internal battle with myself I eventually realized I hadn't even found anything out so I sucked it up and reopened the page.

The website was pretty simple with biographies of all the bartenders, pictures, the hours of the club, and a small online store. It took a little bit of snooping before I found the pièce de résistance though, the Fangtasia Fangbanger Free For All Forum. Now I knew I shouldn't have clicked it. Really, I did. I knew that I probably didn't wanna see what random people had to say about Eric and vampires in general, but it was like a train wreck waiting to happen! And everyone knows you just can't look away from a train wreck so of course I clicked.

The main topics of the forum seemed safe enough given the circumstances.

_**Fangtasia Message Board**_

**The Vampire Crypt (locked)**

_Where all our undead friends discuss the latest Vampire News. _

**The Fangbanger Frenzy**

_Fangbanger? Future Fangbanger? Simply curious? All your answers will be found here._

**The Drainers**

_The place to go to discuss those who shall not be named. _

**Fangtasia Fantasies**

_Have your eye on a particular Vamp or Fangbanger? Tell us **all** about it. _

Okay, so I started giggling and really couldn't stop. These vamps were over the top with their cheesiness! And I didn't know Pam very well but everything I read sounded like something she would say. "Those who shall not be named"? I assumed they were talking about Fellowship of The Sun, but I couldn't be sure. I clicked the fangbanger and drainer board a bit, but neither were very interesting or active. Something had told me that the fantasy board would probably be the most active and the craziest, but I was not at all prepared for what I saw.

_**Fangtasia Fantasies**_

- **Sticky**: New Rule in Effect: Only One Eric Post Per Person Per Day! _byAdminPamela_

- How do to get with ERIC the sex god NORTHMAN!!!!!!! _byEricLuver234_

- **POLL**: Is Eric gay? PLEEEEEEASE SAY YES! _byEricsBoy4Lyfe_

- **QUESTION**: Does Eric hook up with fangers?!?!?!?!?!??!?!??!?!?!??! _byCRAZY4ERIC_

- **QUESTION**: OMG! WHOSE THE BLONDE GUY IN THE CHAIR??!!!! _byGOOGOO4BLONDIE_

- Best Sex Ever? ERIC!!! _bySexyFanger666_

- Things you would let Eric Northman do to you _byEasyforEric6969_

- **POLL**: Would you let Eric hit it anyway he wants? Y/N? _byLovinTheSexGod_

Oh my god! There were pages and pages of this stuff! From this week only! I was shocked, appalled and **so** excited to start reading. I could tell from the other night that people flocked to Eric, but this was insane! There's no way, no freakin way that this many people wanted to get with him. There was literally pages and pages of this stuff. What could it be about Eric Northman that made all these men and women go crazy? Well I was about to find out.

* * *

After 2 hours of laughing so hard that I cried, my abs were really starting to hurt. The things people said about Eric were utterly ridiculous and beyond hilarious. The 'Would you let Eric hit it anyway he wants?' thread was full of things I literally have never heard of! While I didn't exactly have a lot of personal experiences in that department, I sort of lived vicariously through Lafayette and Jason's adventures so I definitely wasn't an innocent little girl. The things these people wanted though? I had no idea what they were! I had to open a separate window so I could google everything!

Other than all the dirty those things, I actually was able to get a good view of Eric from other people's perspectives. The things Bill said about him being a fair sheriff seemed to ring true, because no vamps had anything bad to say. A few bangers seemed to have a grudge against him, but only because he rejected their advances according to the posts. A few people said that they had never seen him lose his cool, even on the few occasions that Fellowship of the Sun members had found their way into Fangtasia. One thread that was affirming Eric's sensuality (no seriously, it was random people affirming his sensuality) read,

_'He was cool as a cucumber! I swear right then and there I was thinking that Billy's idea to come out here was a big mistake. I thought I'd see somebody murdered! But Eric just got up, asked the guy to leave, and that was that! Now who said vamps are dangerous?! This totally means Eric is a cuddler and a carress-er! Amirite or amirite?!'_

I had to laugh at the innocence of the lady. I didn't doubt for a second that Eric had done something to the Fellowship guy, because there was no way a sheriff could just calmly ask a threat to leave. While someone might have taken Eric's reaction as him being nice, I guessed he was probably being more pragmatic than anything. Murdering someone in the middle of the club was surely bad for business, but murdering someone outside the club? Well that's a different story.

I wasn't even paying attention to the time because I was so enthralled in reading all these stories. Most of these people hadn't had sex with Eric and only a few had been asked to be his donor, but they were all obsessed with him like he was the best screw they ever had. Most of them couldn't even articulate what made him so attractive, just saying he had that "thing" about him. I really wanted to feel bad for all these people lusting after Eric's old, dead self but the truth of the matter was, I had fallen prey to that "thing" myself.

When I head three sharp knocks at my door, I knew it was him. I could feel it in my bones that he was outside my house and suddenly I felt stupid for reading all that stuff about him. I knew what all those people had to say were false reflections of the vampire outside my door. They had never been _assets_ to him like I now was.

He knocked twice more before I decided to get up and deal with him. I would talk to him, I just wouldn't invite him in. It was a simple enough plan. In fact it was a pretty damn good plan, because I figured I could come up with a cover for the cop thing the other night. I was debating between a few stories, but was leaning towards telling him that I knew a loose-lipped cop at the police station who told us about raiding Fangtasia. It wasn't the strongest story but it was better than nothing. I took a deep breath before opening the door and promptly losing all the air in my lungs.

Eric was standing there in tight, dark-washed jeans, a black tank top and a leather jacket. His hair was shorter than it had been the night I met him and it looked to be a little bit lighter. He looked like sex on a god damned stick and I was absolutely done for. We stood there for a few moments at a stand still, before I finally made myself speak up.

"Hi Eric. Can I help you with something tonight?" I asked calmly. I wanted to give myself a pat on the back for answering the question without freaking out like I was on the inside.

"I wanted to speak with you about something Genevieve. Do you think that would be possible?" He was leaning against the door jam looking relaxed and so incredibly confident that I honestly wanted to invite him in and say to hell with everything else. But there's no way that was gonna happen.

"What about?" I asked.

"Won't you invite me in to talk about it? I've always heard Southern women had the best manners." He was being playful and I knew it, which was making me extremely uneasy. My mind kept flashing back to the message board and all the things people said about him. Many people said that he was always serious and calm but in our two meetings he had been downright frisky.

"You're absolutely correct about Southern women having the best manners, which is exactly why you will not be stepping foot in this house. What kind of scarlet women would let some strange man in her home simply because he asked?" I answered dryly as Eric responded with a look of amusement. He replied to my sarcastic tone with one of those trademark smirks.

As he stepped away from the door and walked down the front porch steps I kind of died on the inside for multiple reasons. First, the thought of him walking away left this weird achy feeling in my chest which, _what the fuck_? And second, somehow in all the excitement at Fangtasia last week I had managed to miss the absolute perfection that was Eric Northman's ass! Oh my lord! It was big and bubbly and squeezable and looked delectable in those jeans and...

"See something you like Genevieve?"

And there was my cue to crawl into a hole for the rest of eternity. Apparently my ass-crazed mind forgot that their was a head attached to that little piece of perfection and it was currently staring at me, looking very amused. In no time flat my face had managed to heat up and turn redder than a ripe tomato. I stood there gaping at him like a fool for a few seconds before he laughed, bent down and picked up a folder that was sitting on the bottom step. For a split second my mind wondered why there was a file on my front porch but those thoughts quickly scurried away when I realized he bent over. _He bent over_. As in, I got an even bigger eyeful of that ass! From the permanent smile attached to his face I guessed he was doing all this on purpose.

"All of what?" he asked quietly and I guess I said that out loud? Wonderful. Now I can't even tell make my mouth ignore my thoughts. I was trying my hardest to think of a way to get control of this situation but of course in what was becoming a habit, Eric bailed me out first.

"I thought these might be an interest of you. Courtesy of the Shreveport Police Department." He handed the files my way and I quickly realized I'd have to leave the safety of my house to see them. I weighed my options for a second, before stepping outside and grabbing the file. If he was going to kill or kidnap me he could have done it a lot easier than this. Vampire sheriff's don't exactly need elaborate plans when they want to get stuff done.

When I opened the file up I saw a few police reports and a stack full of pictures. The pictures were of what I guessed, were two murder victims. Both were women, one dressed in fang banger clothes and another in a business suit. The banger was in a car, her head leaning against the steering wheel and her neck bearing an ugly red mark. There was a handful of pictures, a few showing different angles of her neck and two showing bite marks on the top of her breast. The pictures of the business women were much more gruesome and detailed. One showed her lifeless body was on the ground, in what looked like a grassy field. Her clothes had multiple rips and her hands looked bloody, I'm sure indicating a struggle with her attacker. Her neck revealed the same ugly red mark that the banger's did. I ran my finger over the picture as I tried to figure it out. Too small to be hands. Too smooth to be a rope.

"Belt." Eric answered easily from my rocking chair that him and his ass had taken a seat on. "If your wondering the murder weapon." He was gently rocking back and forth and looking at me expectantly.

"Who are they?" I had no idea why I was entertaining this conversation or why Eric was looking so comfortable in my chair, but curiosity was getting the best of me.

"Two murder victims." he answered flatly. Before I had a chance to give an obvious retort he spoke again. "They reminded me of the death of your friend. The strangulation part at least." I glanced at the pictures again and thought about Dawn. Andy had told everybody she was strangled and I had assumed it was by someones hands. I now wondered if the same person who killed these women could have killed her.

"The imbecilic cops are questioning vampires of course. The fang banger because of the bite marks and the other woman because she was an employee of mine." Eric said coolly.

"This is your employee?" I asked, holding up the picture of the businesswoman. He seemed so disinterested in the whole thing that I was shocked he knew her.

"Yes. She did some financial work for me during the day. We didn't have an exceptionally close relationship as I'm sure you can guess." I snorted. Eric didn't seem the type to be exceptionally close to anybody.

"They both had their blood?" I asked and Eric nodded. So that's three women who were murdered that had connections to vampires. Seemed like someone was targeting. I looked backed to the picture of the businesswoman and felt a pang in my heart. She was just doing her job and probably got attacked by some Fellowship freak. People seemed to fear vampires so much, but humans were capable of being monsters as well.

"Why did you show me this?" I asked suddenly as Eric got up from the chair and walked towards me. I should have been intimidated or scared by him, but I wasn't at all. Any fear that should have been coursing through my veins was replaced by a morbid interest in him. He was an enigma and I wanted to figure him out.

"You told me about the police officer the other night to prove that you had no intention to manipulate me. So I told you this to prove I have no intention to manipulate you." He was trying to make me nervous as he came closer to me, eventually getting near enough that he could probably feel my breath on his face. I willed myself to stay calm as I made eye contact with him.

"But why?" I asked quietly. "Why do you need to prove anything to me?" He gave me a small smile before backing away and heading back towards the steps.

"I am over a thousand years old Genevieve," he said with his back turned towards me. "I know magic when I see it." And in the blink of an eye I felt like my world was beginning to crumble. There was no way he knew who or what I was. I had been safe and careful, just like I had been taught to do. This couldn't be happening, not after everything I've been through. He was almost to the end of my driveway when he turned around to face me one more time.

"Rest assured Genevieve, soon enough I will know _exactly_ who you are."

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A/N: So what's going to happen next? YOU'LL SEE SOON! :) Please review, I appreciate it more than you know!


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I couldn't wait to post this next chapter, so here ya go! Oh and I've been forgetting to say it but I don't own anything but Gen!_

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Christ on a cracker, I hated Eric Northman's ass. And I mean I literally hated _**his ass**_. I was supposed to be grocery shopping with Sookie and found myself staring at a pack of honey buns for 5 minutes. You know, honey buns lead to buns, buns lead to ass, ass leads to Eric, Eric leads to standing in the middle of an aisle for 10 minutes. It was a simple train of thought really.

"Genevieve!" I heard Sookie yell from down the aisle. "Gen!" she yelled again. I really should have looked over but these buns were lookin' goooooood. "GEN!!!" she screamed as loud as she could and I heard a crash as the boy stocking the shelf on the next aisle probably fell on his ass. Ass. Eric. Oh god. I am out of control. I'm crazed!

See, here's the thing. It's been two days since Eric came and showed me those murder files. It's also been two days since he told me he knew I was "magical". It's also been two days since I realized I totally have a thing for his ass. Now as crazy as I might seem right now, the logical part of me knows that I should be worried about the magic and murder thing. Both could turn out to be very, very bad whereas whatever attraction I have towards Eric could turn out to be nothing. For whatever reason though? My mind is clearly telling logic to fuck off.

Since the night he left I've been having these vivid dreams where I can't see Eric, but I know he's there. I can feel his mouth and his lips and his body pressed against mine, but I can't see him. And even though it's a dream, it feels real and it's beyond annoying because all I want to do is touch him. What's even weirder than all that though, is that I can feel how frustrated _he_ is. I can feel that he wants to look at me and hold me but instead it's like both of us are falling down a black hole and we try to grab at each other for purchase but it never works. We are just a tangle of bodies falling and falling and falling until, nothing. And that's how it ends, as nothing. An empty, black nothing.

I've woken up the past two morning feeling scared, helpless and way too sexually frustrated to even think straight. Which is probably why I'm still staring at the honey buns.

"I swear to God, I don't know what's up with you but you gotta get it together girl!" Sookie said as she bumped the cart into my side.

"I'm sorry Sook, I've just been out of it cause work has been so busy." I lied. She nodded and kept walking around the store. I glanced at the cart and realized all that was in there was True Blood, cheetos, pizza rolls and bagel bites.

"Are you hosting a teenage vampire sleepover?" I asked as we got to the deli.

"What? Why would you ask that?" I pointed to the food in the cart and Sookie started to laugh.

"It kind of looks like that doesn't it?" I nodded. "I just haven't had a big appetite lately. Gran's been cooking for Jason but I usually just get this stuff. It's more convenient." she said, lying through her teeth. Sookie could not live off of junk. In fact, even when we were younger the rest of us would eat crap like pizza rolls for lunch while Sookie had to have a Gran prepare a four-course meal.

"Lie to someone else Stackhouse." I muttered once she had come back from the counter. Sookie looked at me incredulously.

"Lie? I'm not lying. I swear on your life this is all I need to eat." she seemed pleased with her answer as we continued walking. Alright if she wasn't lying, did her eating habits really change after 25 years?

"Alright, I'm just going to tell you so don't freak out okay?" she looked nervous and excited as I nodded slowly. "Seriously, you're not allowed to judge me because we don't judge each other and we love each other and-"

"Sookie, I promise. Spill it."

"I've drank Bill's blood. And I think that's why I don't need to eat as much." she said, slowing backing away. Wait, what? She drinks his blood. _Oh god_, she drinks his blood.

"Sooooookie, ugh." I sounded like an irritating child but I didn't care. What did she expect me to say to that? I'm sure Sookie thought that I was grossed out, but it was more than that.

"I know your thinking it's gross but-" I put up a hand to stop her and started to walk away. It wasn't that I thought it was gross, it was actually a natural thing for vampires and their partners. _**Sookie**_ drinking vampire blood though, was a completely story. What if she had a reaction to it or something? It's not like there are a ton of examples of fae and vampire relationships to go by.

"Gen, don't be like this. C'mon!" She started to catch up with me and I knew I was about to get an earful. I quickly shushed her and stopped walking.

"Sook, I'm not judging you okay? I'm just worried about what you're getting into. Your drinking blood now?" she shushed me and looked around to make sure no one was near us.

"It's not like I do it everyday Gen, it's only happened twice so far. But ever since then, I have so much more energy! And I don't need to eat all the time like I used to." Ugh, wonderful. Side effects are already kicking in. How was I even gonna go about handling this one.

"I already see your wheels turning and let me tell you now: stop. I know not to keep doing it. Just trust me on this. Okay?" I really wanted to argue, but didn't have it in me. For the first time in her life, Sookie was living by her own terms. She seemed truly happy, content and not even slightly grossed out when talking about drinking her boyfriend's blood. If that's not love, what is? I took a deep breath and faked my resignation.

"Alright Stacks. I won't stress about ya tonight. But seriously you gotta tell me if something I heard was true." Sookie looked at me expectantly. "When you drink their blood, does it really make you, you know what," I waggled my eyebrows "quicker?" Sookie started cracking up laughing, which made me crack up, which led to the two us standing their like cackling fools in the middle of the grocery store.

"Well if you'd like, I'll tell you all about.. you know what!"

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After laying in Sookie's bed for two hours talking about sex, I walked myself home with my stomach feeling a little more sore than usual. Between today and the other night on the Fangtasia website my abs were getting more worked out than they had in years.

Sookie shared every detail of her and Bill's sex life and it was hilarious. Vampire Bill brought innocent little Sookie Stackhouse out of her shell, and then some! Sookie had such loose lips that she told me everything, even details like how when he was really turned on he'd reach between her legs and,

"My darling you are an absolute pain to get a hold of!"

I really didn't think my nerves could take anymore shocks or surprises, but the fairy laying on my couch proved me wrong.

"Good afternoon Claudine." I muttered as I headed into my kitchen. I really wasn't in the mood to have a fairy ruin my day, but I'm sure that's what was coming. I reached into the cabinet to pull out some instant coffee, cause I was sure I would need it.

Claudine gingerly made her way into the kitchen and sat herself down at the table. "How has life been treating you Miss Genevieve?" she asked in her usual blase tone.

"Absolutely wonderful. And yours?" I responded, feigning interest.

"I'd be better if my dear cousin wasn't in love with a vampire." Oh here we go already. If there was one thing that was difficult getting used to when dealing with fairies it was their lack of bullshitting. They literally did not know how to bullshit people. Whether they were telling you how you looked or telling you what they expected of you, it was straight and to the point. Sometimes it was a blessing and other times it was a curse for those that had to deal with them.

"You have nothing to say about the matter?" Claudine asked as I popped my coffee mug in the microwave. What did she expect me to say? No answer was going to be the right one so I might as well say what I was thinking.

"Not really Claudine. I haven't seen or sensed a problem yet so no." I answered. I knew this was going to end in a fight, as did Claudine. Niall only ever sent Claudine when he was sure I wasn't going to be complacent. Claudine was gorgeous, intelligent, extremely powerful and a huge bitch when she needed to be. Hence her always getting sent to deal with me and my attitude.

"My grandfather is not happy Genevieve." I sighed and prepared for our blowout. "He is trusting that you can handle this. We all are trusting that you can handle this." Oh great she's not gonna fight with me, she's gonna guilt me. Even better.

"I know. Which is why I'm on top of it okay? Nothing is going to happen." I replied bitterly. I was starting to get really angry at all this. Why didn't they think I could take care of Sookie? I've done it since I was six years old, why would I fail at it now? "Why are you and Niall so sure that I can't handle this?" I asked. Claudine got up from the chair and came to stand right in front of me. She cupped my face in her hands and placed a kiss on top of my head.

"My darling, you do not understand the power of love." I swatted her hands away and backed myself against my cabinet.

"So you think Sookie is gonna drop me like a hot plate just because she fell in love? Sorry Claudine but you and the fairies are wrong. Sookie isn't like _that_." I spat at her resentfully. She simply laughed and walked towards me.

"Why are you so defensive Genevieve? It is a natural occurence. When people fall in love they also give up a part of themselves. It is not a matter of being one way or the other." I turned around to bang my head against the cabinet. I don't understand these freakin' fairies. They don't want her to be in love, yet the understand if she changes because of love. **_What the fuck._**

"I'm really not catching your fairy drift Claudine so can you clarify please."

"Drift? I don't know what drift you speak of. But I will explain what we expect of you at this point." She came around to my side and leaned her head next to mine. "You need to make sure Sookie stays away from Bill. And more imporantly, make sure she falls out of love with him. If you don't, the results could be disasterous."

And with a pop, she was gone.

I took a deep breath and then punched the shit out of my cabinet. How the fuck did they expect me to do all that? And why did they expect me to do it? I grabbed my jacket from my closet and headed out back. I needed to go for a walk to clear my mind and figure out what the hell I was going to do.

I started a mental checklist of things I needed to figure out and or deal with. Okay first, the Sookie and Bill thing. I know Niall wanted me to break them up, but how could I do that to Sookie? She was happy, actually freakin happy for the first time and they expected me to ruin it. Then I had the Eric thing which really shouldn't be an issue at all, but obviously was becoming one. And I also had the murdered women which I suddenly felt responsible for since I knew the cops couldn't handle it.

I really wished I could feel bad for myself. I wished I could hate what I am and what I've been put on this earth to do. But I couldn't. I spitefully wondered if that was because of magic or because I wouldn't allow myself. My heart started to ache a little and I suddenly wished I could talk to Julien. When he was alive he helped me figure all this out, but without him I was completely on my own. I had no biologically family, at least none the fairies would tell me about. And my family, Sookie, Lafayette and everyone, well I was bound by old magic to never tell them about my other life. I had no idea what to do and no idea who to turn to.

I had been walking for ages before I noticed the sun had set and I decided to head back home. I thought about using a little magic to get a restful night, but that seemed like such a cop out. Maybe I'd just fix myself a stiff drink and hopefully knock out. But then I'd still have to deal with those damn dreams.

I walked around the back of the house and up to the front to sit on my rocking chair. As I rounded the corner I heard a noise and felt my senses jump at attention. It sounded like someone was...running. And the noise was getting louder, which meant it was getting closer. My eyes finally found the source of the sound and I looked towards the edge of my driveway.

Barreling towards me was a huge man, running at full speed and I readied myself for a fight. As he got closer my eyesight got sharper and I quickly realized the man was naked. Completely naked. My mind reacted as quickly as possible and my first thought was shifter, since that would make sense of the nakedness. I was reaching down towards my boot to get my athame. It wouldn't do much but it was better than nothing. As the man got closer a sick realization dawned on me.

The man was Eric.

He kept running toward me with all his might and I left the athame in it's sheath, I would use magic for my protection. I wasn't going to prepare to kill him, even if he wanted to kill me. When he was about 5 feet in front of me he came to an abrupt stop. In any other circumstances, I would have checked out him and all his naked glory but I couldn't bring myself to. The look in his eyes was terrifying, but only because he looked terrified. He stood there staring at me with a blank look on his face. I started to step forward but he quickly took a step back.

"Eric?" I asked softly, afraid I would scare him away. He looked at me like he didn't understand what I was saying. "Eric." I said again, more firmly.

"Eric?" he questioned quietly. His voice sounded over used and abrasive. He said his name like it was a word he'd never heard. I nodded slightly and his eyes seemed to calm a little.

"That's my name?" I looked at him incredulously and shook my head yes. "You know me?" he asked, and I again shook my head to affirm. He walked a a few steps closer to me and looked straight into my eyes. The icy blue eyes I expected to see weren't there, instead replaced with a darker, clearer blue. They made him look younger, and less stressed I realized.

He reached for my hand so quickly I didn't have time to snatch it away. He held it and ran his thumb along the inside of my palm. "I kindly ask that you help me Madame." Did a naked Eric Northman just ask me for help? And call me Madame? What the hell was going on? I stumbled upon finding a response and in true Eric fashion, he bailed me out.

"I hope that you excuse my dress, or lack thereof. And my startling you." He was being so polite it was actually scary. I looked at him with an obviously perplexed look on my face and he answered with one of his grins. For the first time all night, I felt a little at peace... until he opened his mouth again.

"I have no idea who I am."

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_A/N: I'm so excited to have more PMs and reviews! I love hearing everyone's opinions, ideas and thoughts on TB, SVM and of course my story. So if you haven't yet, click that little green button and leave me a review or send me a message! _

_This chapter is a bit of a filler, but I think it ended with a bang. What do you all think is going on with Eric?? Who or what do you think Genevieve is? Buckle up for these next few chapters, it's gonna be a fun ride!_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I don't own them, I just like playing with them! Genevieve is mine :)_

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"Put em' on, put em' on, put em" on!" I screamed waving a pair of sweatpants behind my back and in front of Eric. I was jumping up and down with my other hand half-way covering my eyes as he stood staring at me. He was giving me the same look he had been for the past five minutes, a look that said: 'Hi, nice to meet you _**crazy woman**_.'

"Eric, I swear if you don't put this pants on I'm gonna.. I'm gonna.. I don't know what but put them on!" I felt Eric grab the pants from my hands and I decided to stop jumping. I was freaking out and the jumping really wasn't helping anything. The last five minutes were a blur of a few things, first:

Eric was here. Second:

Eric was naked. Third:

Eric didn't know who he was. Fourth:

Eric was naked. And here. And didn't know who he was. Or so he said.

"You may relax now Madame. I did not realize you found my nude body so, _disconcerting_." I turned around to face him and quickly snapped back around. Note to self: gray sweatpants did nothing to hide Eric's anatomy. Well, one part of Eric's anatomy. One _**big**_ part of Eric's anatomy. Oh lordy. When did my house turn into a sauna?

"Madame?" he questioned as I turned around. Alright, it was time for me to suck it up and be an adult. Eric was just a man... okay well actually he was a vampire but either way he was just an entity to deal with. I could deal with him, whether or not he was now half naked and wearing my old sweatpants and not knowing who the hell he was. Piece of cake. Right?

"Okay bucko, enough with the Madame stuff. Let's get to the point. Are you messing with me?" I poked him in the shoulder in time with my question. If this was the real Eric he'd react badly to my poking him as a sign of disrespect.

He lightly touched where I poked and smiled. "Did you just call me, bucko?" Oh no. He didn't seem mad at all, he actually seemed amused. "What is the meaning of this _**bucko**_?"

"Eric, seriously. If this is some weird vampire joke you can stop now okay?" Eric growled in a suddenly frustrated tone.

"Madame, I do not know what kind of jokes we play with each other.. But I can assure you, with complete seriousness, I have no clue who I am."

"Alright well, no offense but I don't believe you." I crossed my arms over my chest and started at him indignantly. Why would Eric Northman suddenly forget who he was? And how? I refused to be a sucker for any weird vampire hoax. "Prove it."

Eric's eyes widened and he threw his hands up in the air. "And how would you like me to do that? I know as much as you do!" I shrugged my shoulders.

I still didn't buy it. Eric was a very old and very. very powerful vampire. What possibly could have done this to him? No medical condition like a concussion could effect vampires, so that was obviously out of the question. Magically speaking, Eric was much to powerful to have his memory erased by some being like a fairy or a witch. Eric audibly groaned, placed his head in his hands and turned his back to me, muttering something I couldn't quite hear under his breath. I let a little smile out since I now could see that butt I'd been fantasizing about, but my mood quickly sobered when I saw his back.

Before I even thought it out, I walked up to him and let my fingertips trace along a marking that adorned him. A large circle drawn with ash covered the span of his back, with another ash line trailing from the bottom of his tailbone to the top.

It was the remnants of a witches' curse, one that causes amnesia. Eric snapped his head back as he tried to follow what my eyes were now glued on.

"What? What is it?" Eric asked as he stretched his neck back, craning to see what I was staring at.

"I don't know." I said as I lead him towards a mirror on the wall. He stared for a second before shaking his head and walking away.

"God damned _witches_."

"What was that?" I questioned, curious as to what exactly Eric remembered about things like witches and the rest of the supernatural world. Depending on the power of the witch and the use of the curse, the levels of amnesia differed. Most people didn't remember who they were but retained all the other knowledge in the memory. Some completely lost all knowledge of anything and were like completely blank slates.

"Bitches." He said. "Whoever did this. They're bitches." I nodded in agreement while trying not to laugh. Eric clearly knew not to divulge too much information until he knew he could trust me. So he had no idea who he was, yet he retained his pragmatism. That figured. He started to stare at me intently and suddenly the air in the room seemed to disappear. He inched closer to me, and for the first time all night I started to feel the same weird nervousness from the other night wash over me.

"I think you should properly introduce yourself to me. I suppose that's where we should start all of this." All of this? All of what? All I wanted to do was get him some clothes so he could get the hell out of here. The last thing I needed was a confused Eric Northman prancing around my house.

"Alrighty, well my name is Genevieve. Your name is Eric Northman. Here's a shirt." I handed him one of Jason's old wife beaters that was left here and he stared at it disbelievingly. "And i'll call you a cab to take you to your bar. Sound good? Wonderful, be right back!" I bolted toward the kitchen before he had a chance to argue. All I needed to do was send him over to Fangtasia and Pam or one of his lackeys could handle the rest. I reached down to get a phone book from my bottom cabinet when I heard Eric walk up. It wasn't until I stood up that I realized he was looming over me, literally.

"_Genevieve_, I do not know what bar you are planning to send me to but let me assure you," he grabbed the phone book from my hands and placed it on the nearest counter. "I will not be going there." I looked up at him and met his determined glare. What the hell did he want me to do?

"Alright _Eric_, where would you like me to send you then?" I reached back for the phone book and threw him my best death glare. "Since the bar that _**you own**_ obviously isn't sufficient?" Eric smiled and grabbed the phone book back out of my hands.

"The only place I'd like for you to send me is a light proof room." Well at least he knew that he was a vampire, I couldn't imagine breaking that news to him. He placed the phone book back on the counter. "In this house." I scoffed at his idea and stepped back to put some space between us. I let out a nervous chuckle before I began wagging my finger and shaking my head no.

"No way buddy. Nooo way. You cannot stay here." Eric crossed his arms across his naked torso, and oh, I just realized his torso was naked. Quite a lovely sight, but completely beyond the point.

"Seriously Eric, I don't know what you think we are," I motioned between the two of us, "but that is not possible. We don't do that. You staying here is not a possibility. Impossible." He started to grin and I really wished I hadn't seen that tiny sliver of fang he was showing because it caused my stomach to tighten even further.

"I might not currently know who I am, but I kindly ask that you don't underestimate my senses." I had no idea what he meant by that, because I certainly wasn't underestimating anything. I knew that his senses and obvious knowledge were commanding, even without his memory.

"I awoke approximately 7:20 p.m., about 10 miles south of here. I was without clothing or companions, face down in the middle of the woods. I smelled numerous familiar scents, but one was much more powerful than the others." He walked towards me and leaned down to place his mouth directly next to my ear. "Do you know what that scent was Genevieve?"

I shook my head no as I willed my breathing to stay calm. My lungs were burning and I wanted so badly to take a few strong gulps of air. How the hell did he effect me that much? This wasn't even the real him!

"You." He answered without incident, as I expelled a huge huff of air. Me? He smelled me?

"And what does that mean?" I asked, not really wanting to know the answer. He pulled his head back so we were face to face and ran his finger along my jaw, much like he did the night at Fangtasia.

"That means that I am exactly where I need to be." He stepped away from me and made his way to my kitchen table, where he gingerly took a seat. '

What the fuck? What the hell was I supposed to say to all that? _'No sir, your smells are obviously deceiving you!_

"Since your smell was the strongest, it was obvious to me we've spent a lot of time together recently. And the closer I got to this home, the safer I felt." I stood there gaping at him, because the idea of Eric Northman feeling safe at my house was mind boggling. "I cannot fully explain it, but I knew it my gut that if I came here, I would be safe."

"You seem to be disturbed by this news." He said and I looked and him and shrugged my shoulders before walking to my liquor cabinet and grabbing a bottle of Cuervo. This night was too friggin' weird to handle without the help of alcohol. "This surprises me greatly." I was planning to take a shot, but instead decided to go for a bigger glass. Eric Northman was amnesic, sitting shirtless at my dining room table and telling me he was planning to stay at my home. Big glasses were applicable to this situation.

"Are we not lovers?" Eric innocently asked as I almost double choked on my Cuervo. Did the vampire not know how bad this shit hurt going down? Asking things like that, mid-swallow, did not help the situation!

"I'll take your reaction as a no." I forcefully shook my head 'no' as I ran over to the sink to get some water. I was still choking for god sakes! When I looked over at Eric, he was leaning his head against a closed fist and appeared to be in mid-thought. I had to bite my cheek to stop from smiling at the sight. He looked flawless, beautiful and so incredibly young that the thought of him being over a thousand years old seemed laughable. I walked over and took a seat across from him. The night couldn't get any weirder.

"This situation is most odd." I looked at Eric for a few long seconds before I finally bursted out laughing. To say the situation was odd would be an understatement. "I suppose that is in understatement." He conceded as he let out a chuckle.

"So my name is Eric Northman and I own a bar?"

I nodded. I thought about telling him he was a sheriff, but I didn't want him to ask how I knew that information.

"Yep, it's a vampire-human bar slash attraction." Eric's brows furrowed as he took in this information. "I mean it's a bar. But I think you make most of your money from showing off vamps to humans."

He seemed to carefully plan his next words before saying them. "Humans know about the existence of vampires?" Uh oh. Well that was all kinds of interesting! Whatever witch cursed him wanted him to not only forget his own personal memories, but also those of vampires coming out of the coffin.

Odd. What could someone gain from that?

"Yeah. TrueBlood. Coming out of the coffin. Ringing any bells?" He groaned as a disgusted look took over his face.

"Coming out of the coffin? How idiotic! How are humans reacting to the news? Is there not wide spread fear over us taking their blood?" I got up from the table and headed to the fridge. Sookie brought me a pack of TrueBlood last week just in case Bill ever came over here and I popped one out of the case and handed it to Eric.

"100% TrueBlood?" He turned the bottle around to read the slogan on the back, "All flavor. No bite. Oh my gods. This cannot be real!" I suppressed a laugh at Eric's reaction. I wondered if this was how he reacted when he originally found out about TrueBlood, he seemed completely scandalized now. "Synthetic blood?" he asked.

"Yeah. So most humans think you all are tamed by this stuff now."

"Well humans are not known for their intelligence are they?"I decided to leave that one alone before I went running my mouth to him. He opened the TrueBlood and gave it one long sniff before turning his head away in disgust. "It smells revolting." He brought the bottle to his lips and took the smallest taste possible. "Tastes revolting too."

"I don't think they made it for taste, or vampires in general actually. It was supposed to be for medical purposes. At least that's what all the papers said."

Eric nodded as I stood there and a deafening silence took over the room. I was picking at my nails for a bit before Eric finally broke the awkwardness.

"Will you be willing to let me stay here tonight?" I started to protest but Eric raised his hands in submission. "Tonight only. Just enough time for me to sort my thoughts. The few that I have." He really shouldn't stay here. I knew how dangerous he was, but something deep in my gut was urging me to let him stay.

"Tonight. And tomorrow you're leaving. No if, ands or buts about it. Deal?"

"It is a deal."

"Well, no offense but I really need to head to bed. It's kind of my sleeping time." Eric nodded and stood up from the table.

"If you could just show me the most light proof room in your home, I will take care of the rest." I thought about sending him to my guest room, but that was right across the hall from my room and that absolutely wouldn't work. The basement seemed like the safest bet since it was the farthest from where I'd be.

"Is the basement okay? There are no windows and there's a little cot down there?"

"That would be perfect, please lead the way."

I brought Eric around to the basement door and led him down the stairs. My basement was empty for the most part, sans a couple boxes of holiday decorations but I still felt like I was giving a dangerous vamp free reign of my house. Niall would die if he knew what I was doing.

"I'll be up before you are obviously, so if you need anything I can get it for you then." Eric seemed confused at my comment so I clarified. "Ya know.. Like a TrueBlood."

He smiled and shook his head. "I do not feel like I will be hungry anytime soon. I must have fed _extensively_ recently." He flashed a toothy grin once again and that was my cue to leave. I walked out of the basement without saying anything else.

I needed to get as far away from Eric Northman as I could. Unfortunately that was only about two floors directly up. As I jumped into bed fully clothed I wondered how I got myself into situations like this. Eric _**freakin'**_ Northman was in my basement. Eric Northman! My basement! What the hell was I thinking? My brain had already been fried for the past two weeks because of him, and now he was staying here. What. The. Hell.

And to top it off, he was cursed! By a witch! Guess I needed to add more one thing to my list of situations to deal with. What could a witch gain from stripping Eric's memory? And what witch in this area was powerful enough to even cast such a powerful curse?

I spent the next several hours running over possible explanations before I finally realized, the sun was rising. I glanced towards the clock and saw the bright red lights read 6:17. An odd sense of calm rushed over me when I realized Eric was now sleeping right below me. And with that thought, I slept.

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_A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviews, puts me on alerts and sends me PMs. It is greatly appreciated! _


	8. Chapter 8

_I only own Genevieve. The rest belong to Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris!_

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I was sleeping peacefully for the first time in days when The Eagles woke me up.

_**Raven hair and ruby lips**_

_**Sparks fly from her finger tips**_

_**Echoed voices in the night **_

_**She's a restless spirit on an endless flight**_

I rolled over and reached for my phone. "Whattaya want?" I asked, desperately wanting to go back to sleep.

"Well good evening to you too sunshine! What the hell are you doing sleeping at 7 o'clock at night?" Sookie asked as I bolted upright in my bed.

"It's 7 o'clock? What the hell!"

I'd been sleeping for over 12 hours! I rushed to get out of bed and about had a heart attack when I noticed Eric sitting in the corner in my papasan chair. I jumped back into bed as quickly as I could and put a finger over my mouth to tell him to hush. He simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Hellooo Gen? You still there?" I really needed to get this vampire the hell out of my house.

"Yeah Sookie, I'm here. But listen I haven't been up all day. I'm not feeling so hot. I'll call you back in little bit 'kay? Love you." Sookie groaned into the phone.

"Fine, brat. But hurry and call me back! I have to tell you about Eric Northman!" I was in the process of shutting the phone when I heard Sookie say his name.

"What about him?" Eric had a questioning look on his face and I realized he could probably hear. I motioned for him to get out and he replied with an eyebrow raise. I narrowed my eyes, pointed to the door again and mouthed 'GET OUT' but he still didn't move.

"I am comfortable." He said before I jumped up and quickly slapped my finger to my mouth.

"HUSH!" I whispered hoping Sookie didn't hear me.

"What was that Gen?"

"Nothing, sorry. I was um," God I was such a horrible liar. "coughing. Sorry. So what were you saying?"

"I swear Gen you're losing your mind! Anyways what I was saying is that there's a warrant out for Eric's arrest!" I looked up and saw Eric fingering through some clean clothes that were lying in a laundry basket. When he picked up a pair of my frilly purple underwear I launched the nearest pillow at him.

He caught it effortlessly, of course. Bastard.

"Genevieve. Are you listening? He's wanted by the police. For murder." I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach because I was now officially housing a wanted vampire who just was fishing through my clean laundry. Huzzah!

"You're kidding me! Of who?" Eric's face had become stony and emotionless and yep, he can hear the conversation.

"DAWN! And two women in Shreveport! Bill told me that the police are wrong and there's no way Eric killed them, but the cops don't buy it. They set up an ambush at Fangtasia last night but he never showed up." I had visions of Shreveport County Sheriff's Department trying to ambush Eric in the middle of Fangtasia while he sat on his throne. "Can you believe it? We were talking to Dawn's killer!"

I knew Eric didn't kill Dawn or the other two women, I thought Sookie did too.

"You honestly believe he did it?"

"I don't know Gen. He's a huge psycho vampire." Eric snorted. "Who knows what he's capable of? Plus if he wasn't guilty why would he run?"

"Run? What do you mean?" I asked. I would feel like the biggest idiot in the world if this was all some elaborate plot and Eric really hadn't lost his memory.

I looked towards Eric and met his deep blue eyes. Who was I kidding? I know what a cursed man looked like, and Eric? He was cursed. I turned away so I wouldn't have to stare at him any longer. It left me with butterflies in my stomach.

"He's apparently gone into hiding! Pam called Bill today and said that she didn't know he was going to do it, but she's sure he fled from the police."

"Maybe he just didn't want to deal with the cops." I offered as an explanation. "You know, just run till everything blows over?"

"Maybe, but I don't know Gen. But listen I'm going over to Bill's so I'll call you later. Go take some medicine! Love you!" I heard the line click dead and I snapped my phone closed and turned towards Eric.

"Alright buddy, we need to discuss some boundary rules."

Eric smiled and it suddenly hit me that he was wearing a black t-shirt along with the same sweatpants from last night. Where did he get the shirt? And damn, now I wouldn't be able to ogle those shoulders of his.

_Oh. My. God. Did I really just think that?_

"I beg to differ Genevieve." The look on his face became deathly serious. "I could have found my way into your bed, but instead chose the chair. You should praise me for my self discipline." He smiled again and my heart warmed a little when I realized he was joking with me.

"From what I've read I am what you might call a _ladies man_. My prowess knows no bounds."

Wait what?

"You remember your prowess?"

His smile brightened. "No. Unfortunately not. I did google myself though. And according to the Fangtasia website many, many people... _**enjoy me**_." Oh you have got to be kidding me!

"You _googled_ yourself?" I asked. He simply nodded. Wait a second... "How did you do that? Where'd you get a computer?" Cue the Eric Northman shit-eating grin.

"I used yours of course." He answered as slyly as possible. I racked my brain for where I had left my computer last. I thought it had been in the guest room across the hall charging. I was awake all night though, so how did Eric get it? "If you're looking for it I left it downstairs. Would you like me to bring it to you?"

"You know what?" I went to get out of bed to give him a piece of my mind face to face but I kind of got stuck in my covers. There went my big scary blow up on him. After wrestling around for what felt like hours, I heard a giggle, an honest to god giggle and I just decided to jump out of the damn bed wrapped in my comforter. Eventually I got out and walked over to Eric who was now looking the other way and trying not to laugh. Bastard.

"Please refrain from calling me names Genevieve." Damnit, there went the speaking-without-knowing-it thing.

"I will call you whatever the hell I want!" I went to poke him like I did last night, but he expected it this time and caught it before I had the chance.

"You are quite onerous this evening. Should I expect this everyday or is it an isolated incident?" He asked as his thumb gently ran against my palm. When goosebumps broke out along my arm I snatched my hand away to stop him. When I placed my hand at my side that odd, empty feeling made an appearance in my gut and I fought the urge to smack myself. I really needed to get a hold of that, pronto.

"You shouldn't expect anything because this is the last time you will ever see me wake up!" My voice took on a higher tone and I cringed internally because I sounded like an angry teenage girl. Real menacing.

"About that.." Eric muttered as he walked out of my bedroom.

"About that what? You are not staying here, especially now that you're a wanted criminal!" I followed him down the stairs and towards the kitchen.

"Yes, I read that online. I obviously didn't do it. Are the police that ignorant about vampires?" He reached in the fridge, got a TrueBlood and popped it in the microwave. "I mean honestly, a vampire killing a healthy human without draining a single drop? What an absurd thought." When the microwave beeped Eric took the bottle out, walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a glass. I stared dumbly as he poured his blood into the glass and took a long sip. "This stuff really is vile." I stood their gaping.

"Have," I almost couldn't get the rest of the words out because I was so friggin' shocked. "have you been through my cabinets?"

Eric turned around to take note of the kitchen before shrugging his shoulders. "Well I need to know where everything is don't I?"

I debated on how to handle the situation. I could be calm, and simply discuss the situation. Or.. I could freak the hell out.

"What in the almighty hell is your problem?!" As a rule, freaking out was a much, much more fun way of handling situations. "You.. you.. you vampire! You god damned vampire!" Honestly, it was. Sure, it might make me look like a psycho but it was fun nonetheless. "You steal my computer, you go through my cabinets! You've probably gone through my whole house!" Eric nodded. "And to get my computer you had to go upstairs. When did you go upstairs?!"

Eric didn't seem phased and continued to down the TrueBlood, which only made me angrier. "Last night. When you were asleep I assume." He explained with no theatrics.

"I didn't fall asleep till sunrise so there's no way!"

"Well as a general rule, vampires are quiet creatures. It helps add to the," He brought his hands up and made the same hands Michael Jackson used in the Thriller video. Eric Northman was giving me _**thriller hands**_. "menacing factor."

"I.. I just don't even know." I took a seat a placed my head in my hands. When I felt Eric's hand touch my shoulders I didn't even have the energy to swat him away. How the hell did things get so weird so fast?

"You are carrying a lot of tension. Would you like a massage?" I could hear the smirk in his voice and I groaned and banged my head against the table.

"Stopppppppp." I whined out and Eric's hands quickly left my shoulders. I heard the chair move as he took a seat across from me.

"You are conceding. This is good. It will make everything much simpler."

I lifted my head and met his determined gaze. "Concede to you? Explain this to me please. Cause I am not conceding anything." I snarled and Eric looked taken aback by my anger. Look, I didn't like being pushed around and Eric was seriously crossing the line.

He gave a deep sigh and I couldn't help but roll my eyes since deep breathes were unnecessary when you were _**dead**_.

"Genevieve, you must understand. I am most likely in very grave danger. The fact the police now are accusing me of murder is the least of my worries. I also have a witch who also has it out for me." I groaned because I now realized I had more things to add to my list of problems. Great. "Where would you like me to go? I have no money. No identification. I certainly cannot go to Fangtasia where the police have already staked out."

For the first time I noticed that Eric seemed nervous. He was running his thumb and his index finger together and seemed deep in thought. I felt a pang of guilt stab through me for feeling so burdened by him because honestly, at least I knew who I was. Eric, while still being sure and pompous, had no memories, no past experiences. He only had his instincts.

"While I do not currently understand it, I cannot ignore my," He stopped rubbing his fingers and seemed to calm. "_attraction_ to you." Well apparently flirtation calmed his stresses. Wonderful to know. "Whatever sense I had that brought me to your home has kept me alive for the past twenty-four hours, and I believe it will continue to do so. As long as you allow it."

I sat back in my chair and stared up at my ceiling. It was by far the oddest and most beautiful thing in my home.

_I had to be about 10 years old when one day I came home to see Julien sitting on the kitchen floor surrounded by piles and piles of tissue paper. _

_"Welcome home mon amour! I've been waiting for you!" He looked positively tickled. "We are going to do a little project."_

_"Project? What kind?" I asked. He pushed the tissue paper towards me and smiled._

_"Whatever you want mon amour. I want to show you how to paper mache. So what would you like to do?" He jumped up from the floor and walked around the kitchen. "Do you wanna put it on the... bread box?" I shook my head no. "Okay, how about your lunchbox?" I shook my head no again and Julien gave me a thousand-watt grin. "How about the **ceiling**?"_

_"The ceiling?" I asked, eyes flashing between the different colored tissues and the blank white ceiling above me. "You'll really let me put all that on the ceiling?" I was positively tickled. Everyone in school already thought I had the coolest parent cause Julien was so young and let me sit front seat in his brand new Jeep. When they saw my paper mache ceiling? They'd like me even more. Julien went to the cabinet and pulled out a big container of flour and set it next to a huge bowl of water on the kitchen table. _

_After looking at the paper and the stuff on the table, I finally gave in and asked Julien, "Well how do we get it up there?" His smile seemed to die a little, and become sad as he bent down to his knees and ran a finger through my hair. _

_"Ma cherie, it is simple. All we need is a little... magic."_

I had re-papered the ceilings more times than I could count. At this point Sookie and Tara thought I was the Martha Stewart of paper mache. Every person that had come into my kitchen wanted to know how the paper always stayed so bright and fresh, like it was done the day before. I'd always answer their questions the same, with a quick, a smile and '_Just a little magic_'. People always reacted the same, I'd get a swat on the arm and a laugh. Little did they know..

"I take it you would like me to leave." I was brought back to reality by Eric's voice. I really didn't know what to say. Obviously it was a horrible and foolish idea that could have serious repercussions, but what could I do? Kick him out to the curb and let either the police or the witch find him first? My stomach lurched at the thought of putting Eric in danger.

"What do you want from me? Exactly. Spell it out and I'll let you know if I can do it."

"I would like to stay here until my memory returns. Or until I find the witch the that has cursed me." That could take weeks, or months. I just needed to tell him to leave.

"Alright, you can stay."

Where did that come from? I had no idea.

"Wonderful!" Eric of course seemed pleased with my answer. "I am in your debt for your help."

I got up from the table and headed towards the stairs. I really, really needed a shower. And at least twenty feet away from Eric because he was starting to fry my brain. "Trust me, I will hold you to that." I regretted my words as soon as they passed my lips.

"I cannot wait until you hold me.. to anything." I groaned and he let out a hearty laugh.

"You're lines are too cheesy Eric." I yelled while walking up the stairs.

"Cheesy yet effective!" He yelled back. We were now tossing barbs back and forth from the kitchen to the second floor. We might as well have been an old married couple.

As I walked into my room I fought the urge to jump into my bed and close my eyes until Eric and all these problems disappeared. I searched my closet for clothes to bring into the bathroom so I wouldn't have to walk out in a towel. I was pretty sure Eric knew to keep his distance after my little freak out but I wasn't taking any chances.

"I suggest you wear appropriate attire to go out Genevieve." I almost had a heart attack when I heard Eric's voice right behind me. "We are going shopping."

"I.. What?" Eric handed me my laptop as I stared at him open mouthed for what felt like the hundredth time this evening.

"Shopping. You and I. I need clothing of course." I only stood there, as I wondered how the hell he got in so fast and I couldn't even **sense** it. Eric turned and looked me up and down, letting his eyes linger in various places. The look sent shocks straight between my legs and I couldn't help but gasp when my eyes finally met his and I got a look at his dark dilated pupils.

"By the way," he whispered "I have found that awaiting your reactions can be an extremely enjoyable experience."

I shook my head to try get out of his spell and understand what he was saying. "What? What do you mean my reactions?" Eric's hand reached towards my face, and I held my breath as I waited for him to touch me. Instead he lightly ghosted his large hand along my right arm and watched as my skin turned to goose flesh in his wake.

"Well, I assume most people find the supernatural to be scary." Uh oh. "Yet you are different." His hand was now making the journey back up to the top of my arm and the knots in my stomach were so tight I could barely breathe. "I mention that a witch is after me and you don't even flinch." His hand abruptly left my arm and he began to back away towards my bedroom door. "You have nothing to fear from me Genevieve. But rest assured, soon enough I will know exactly who you are."

_**Oh fuck.**_

* * *

_**  
**_

So I left a ton of clues in this chapter about Genevieve and her past and even some about her and Eric. Some were obvious, some not so much. Can anyone figure them out? Reviews are greatly appreciated! You all are wonderful! :)


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: I don't own them! _

* * *

I had been in the shower for over an hour when I began to wonder if my skin could fall off from all the heat. That would be a better option then getting out and facing Eric. I couldn't believe I had been so dumb. He actually spoke about witches in regular conversation and I didn't even bat an eyelash. It was driving me absolutely crazy how much he effected me.

"Have you drowned?" I heard Eric ask from behind the door. I didn't answer. "Have you slipped and fell?"I took a deep breath and tried to ignore him. "Are you pleasuring yourself while thinking of me?"

"God dammit Eric I'll be out in a minute!" I yelled, not in the mood for his cute little flirting. When I heard a few beats of silenced I assumed he left.

"So.. Was that a yes or a no to the pleasuring?"

"ERIC!!!"

"I'll be waiting downstairs." He answered in his most sing-song voice. Jerk. I turned off the shower not long after and rushed to get dress. With my luck Eric would walk through the air vents to come in here.

I chose a simple jeans and t-shirt outfit paired with my favorite gray boots. I sat down on my bed to try to calm my nerves and come up with a game plan before I had to face Eric. I decided upon a simple plan: I would just act like nothing ever happened. Smart right? Not so much, but what else could I do? Try to come up with some excuse for knowing about the existence of witches? I thought about saying Bill introduced me to one, but what if he had a run in with Bill and brought it up? I couldn't risk bringing anyone else into this damned mess.

Beyond covering my own ass, I was feeling beyond uneasy at the actual words Eric used. _**"**__**But rest assured, soon enough I will know exactly who you are."**_ Was it more than just coincidence Eric uttered those exact same words to me only a few nights ago? I knew he was cursed, there was not a single doubt in my mind about that, but maybe it was already beginning to fade away? I've never seen a curse that lasted only twenty-four hours, but in this world anything is a possibility. I could have sat there for hours internally debating just what the hell was going on, but that would just give Eric more free reign over my home and that wasn't good.

As I headed downstairs I heard some familiar voices on the T.V., it was _Gossip Vamp_ an extremely unrealistic show about young, new vampires living in New York City. As I walked in the kitchen to get my keys I flippantly wondered if Eric would watch crap like that.

"Oh by gods, don't tell me Blair is going to bite Nate!" Apparently he would. Where the hell were my keys? "Genevieve, do you watch this program?" I couldn't find them anywhere and I really, _really_ needed to find them. "Do you not find it infuriating how unrealistic it is? Blair obviously should take Chuck as her bonded yet she chose Nate to make Serena mad." I was looking through all the drawers in the kitchen and I still couldn't find them. "What an unrealistic portrayal." I heard his voice right behind me and quickly wondered if I should ask him if he knew where my keys were.

"In real life, Blair would have ripped Serena's throat out in front of Nate. Then ripped off all his limbs one by one. Then copulated with Chuck. In the mess created by their bloody bodies. And the show would have been over in one very quick episode."

I tried really hard to hold in the laugh that was begging to come out but I couldn't, which left me doing some hybrid laugh/snort/cough. I looked over to him when I composed myself, expecting to see his cocky smirk but, in what was becoming the norm, he surprised me. He was staring at me with a content look on his face, but his eyes had a sense of.. accomplishment? Happiness? I couldn't really tell and in a split second all my nervousness seemed to disappear.

I took in his appearance and realized he was wearing a pair of Jason's old flip-flops and his old shirt, along with my big sweatpants which weren't so big on him. He looked adorable, and with that thought I realized we needed to get the hell out of here.

* * *

It didn't hit me till we both got into my jeep that I failed to consider how awkward all of this would be. Eric and I had an undeniable pull to each other, but we were still complete strangers. I didn't know if I should blast the music like I usually did or leave it off. I wasn't sure if I should leave it on a classic rock station or change it to something else. I decided to aim for the middle and leave it on a classic country station with the volume on low.

"Where are do you plan on going?" Eric asked, breaking me out of my thought process.

"Well, somewhere where you can get everything in one shot."

"Don't you humans have those ridiculously large stores that sell every possible thing you can think of?" I couldn't help but smile at his description.

"Yes, we do. But just for the record I hate Wal-Mart and don't really shop there. I just don't think we have much of a choice." Eric nodded and stared out the window. I headed towards the highway and debated where to go. I couldn't go out to Shreveport since Eric was wanted there, and I couldn't stay in Bon Temps for the obvious reasons, so I decided to head over to Mansfield which I knew had a Wal-Mart.

I was so deep in thought I didn't even register Eric switching the radio station till I heard him tapping along with the beat.

_**With lovers and friends**_

_**I still can recall**_

_**Some are dead and some are living**_

_**In my life**_

_**I've loved them all**_

_**But if all these friends and lovers**_

_**There is no one **_

_**Compares with you**_

I recognized the gritty, deep base of Johnny Cash's voice and I couldn't stop a smile from forming on my face. I loved this song. As I watched Eric tap his fingers, I realized he knew it too.

"You've heard this song before?" Eric's head snapped towards me quickly, like he was surprised I spoke.

"Yes. Well I assume so. I know the beat. And I enjoy it. I imagine I probably have heard it, but I obviously cannot be sure."

I nodded while wondering how exactly this cursed thing worked. Of course I had the general idea, but it's not like I've had the opportunity to pick a cursed individual's brain. Until now. "What's it like?" I asked and Eric furrowed his brows.

"Being cursed?" I nodded and Eric took a few moments to try to find the words. "Well it is not easy to explain. I would say though, it's like knowing the plot of the book but forgetting the characters, locations and everything that happened." I nodded even though I had no idea what the hell he meant.

"That's a horrible analogy. Let me give you another example, that perhaps is more understandable." From the corner of my eye I saw his smirk start to form and I braced myself for the inevitable. "Off the top of my head I can think of hundreds of ways to pleasure a women. I have learned these skills firsthand from personally pleasuring various women. Yet I cannot remember any particular person, or any specific location where it took place, but all the knowledge I've accumulated is still there. Understand?"

I stayed silent for a few minutes, digesting what he said. "You've said the word pleasure more times tonight than I think I have in my whole life." Eric let out a deep, hearty laugh and I tried my best not to follow suit.

"Well that is a shame Miss Genevieve. You should have more pleasure in your life."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're here though, so what's the plan?"

Eric seemed shocked. "Plan? The plan is to go in and get clothing. What else will we need to do?"

"Eric, you're a wanted murderer." Eric growled in displeasure. "An alleged murderer. You can't just walk on into there! What if there's a cop? What if there's a board that your picture is tacked on to? What if-"

"You worry much too much Ms. Genevieve. All will be fine. Let's go." With that, he hopped out of the car and began walking towards the door. I thought about arguing some more, but if he got arrested that was on him, not me.

I walk behind him so I could admire his a-, I mean... Put some space between us. Once we got to the Men's Department he worked like a man on a mission. He started with two packs of solid colored v-neck t-shirts and tank-tops that he held out towards me. Apparently I was playing the part of Eric Northman's assistant tonight. He then moved on to jeans, which was a project in itself.

"These are very poorly made." He said with a look of distaste plastered on his face.

"Yeah, well we're in Wal-Mart not Dolce and Gabbana. What do you expect?"

"I expect my clothing to be of the highest quality. Why would someone expect anything less?" After fifteen minutes of arguing back and forth Eric begrudgingly chose the three best pairs he could find.

"That will be all from here."

"No shoes? Or maybe a jacket? You're gonna walk around in tank tops all the time?" I asked.

"Well it's not like I get cold Genevieve." He answered easily. "And while I do need shoes, I refuse to buy them here. We must go to a nicer place than here. I prefer to wear boots, and one cannot get quality boots from an establishment such as this. I will reimburse you accordingly."

Oh. I forgot I'd be funding Eric's little shopping spree. Money really wasn't an issue, I had my job and Niall made sure I was more than comfortable, but on principal I wasn't going to spend a bunch of money for Princess Northman's feet to step into designer shoes.

"Well I don't know what you're expecting but I am not going to spend a ton of money on designer shoes just because you want them."

"I will pay you back once my memory returns, you have my word."

"What if it doesn't return? Or what if it's gone for forty years?"

Eric pondered this before answering. "Then I suppose I will owe you a lot in interest. Or I could get some money now. If you find that to be more acceptable. I'm quite sure I could use one of my many skills to get some cash."

One of his skills probably involved draining someone and conveniently swiping their wallet.

"No. I don't want the money now. And don't worry, I plan on having you pay me back. But I don't have the money to be spending a bunch right now, even if you do plan on paying me back in the future."

Once we got in the car, Eric seemed to accept defeat. For about half a second.

"Do you know of any of those stores? The name escapes me right now, but the places that sell other people's clothing? The prices are usually very cheap. I used to go to one of those. Somewhere." He was getting frustrated with his lack of memory. "I cannot remember where, but I know I found nice clothing there. Would you know of any of those?"

I did. My style was eccentric, and definitely a little vintage so my favorite thrift store is where I got most of my clothing. There was a great one just outside of Bon Temps that had people from all over Louisiana flocking to it. I started going there when I was just a little girl with Julien, and was a regular ever since. The owners Jimmy and Royce loved me to death and I them. I knew they had no problem with vamps, and even extended night time hours for them so I wasn't afraid of bringing Eric there. Just the thought of shopping with him in my favorite store left me feeling uneasy.

"Genevieve.." He turned his body toward me and placed his large hand on top off mine. "Please?"

Oh hell. Off to _Deja Vu_ we went.

* * *

"Hey Jimmy!"

"Well good evening Ms. Laurent. How you doing this evening?"

"Oh just peachy. And yourself?" I asked as I went Jimmy came out from behind the register and gave me a big hug.

"Wonderful. But I'd be better if you introduced me to your friend."

"My wha-" I received a face full of Eric's chest as I turned around. He grabbed at my arms to keep me from falling. "I thought I told you to stay in the car till I told you to come in!" I said in my most hushed tone.

"Yes well that was before I knew no one was here. Since we are alone I see no problem." I noticed that he was wearing the pair of jeans and tank top that we bought earlier.

"You don't see problems with anything Eric." I managed to get out between gritted teeth.

"Good evening. I am Eric No-"

"No..es...terson. Noesterson! This is Eric Noesterson." Eric turned towards me and gave a confused look while Jimmy nodded his head and turned the other way.

"Well ya'll let me know if you need any help 'kay? Gen you know where everything is."

"Who is Eric Noesterson?" Eric asked as I drug him to the back of the store.

"That's you right now! What kind of wanted man gives someone his real name!" Eric considered this for a minute. "Seriously Eric, I like Jimmy. He's very nice, he has no problems with vampires and respects everyone. But if he turns of the news he's gonna see you're wanted for murder! It's bad enough he's seen your face but he didn't need to know your name." I explained.

"You are right. I was not thinking clearly. Thank you for helping me out of that situation."

He had already begun looking through racks of jackets while I headed towards the dressing rooms to find a place to sit. And to get away from Eric. I found a small bench that was nestled in between the two small dressings room. This entire situation was getting absurd. I was out shopping with Eric Northman: vampire, Sheriff of Area 5, alleged murderer and victim of some powerful witches' curse. Was I missing anything else?

"I am going to try these things on." Eric said, carrying a handful of clothing and what looked like a pair of boots. He opened the curtain to the small room and set down his clothes before turning around and giving me a slow,_** sexy as hell**_ smile. "You will tell me what looks good, won't you Genevieve?"

I didn't answer because I kind of forgot how to speak for a second there. **There** was something I forget when describing Eric. He had this thing about him, and it was there with or without the amnesia, but he had this thing that made him absolutely.. erotic. That sounded so corny and romance-novel like, but it was honestly the truth.

The downside to seeing his little erotic side was that I couldn't figure out if he had some genuine interest in me or whether making me nervous was simply a game to him. The ironic thing was that I was having this same type of dilemma before he lost his memory. I couldn't figure out exactly what he wanted from me. Both then and now, I wasn't willing to take a chance to figure it out.

"Being so large can be rather burdensome sometimes." I couldn't help but laugh at Eric's words from behind the curtain of the dressing room. He stepped out a few seconds later in a jet black leather jacket and leather boots paired with the jeans and tank.

He looked so much like his normal self that I had to shake off the slight fear that came charging through me. The only thing that looked different tonight, compared to the night he came to my house was his hair. That night it was gelled back with not a hair out of place, today he had pushed it back while wet and just let it dry which left it looking soft and floppy. I cringed at the idea that the only thing that separated this Eric from his normal self, was his hair.

"Is it too small?" he asked, pulling at sleeves.

"No. A little tight in the shoulders maybe." I commented while pointing towards the aforementioned body part.

"Well that's acceptable. A little tight is usually perfect." He offered a cheeky smile and I groaned as banged my head into the wall behind me which received a deep laugh from him.

"Genevieve, you are making this much too easy for me."

He couldn't be more right about that one.

* * *

Our ride back to my house was considerably more relaxed, which made me more worried than before. I felt like my senses were betraying my mind in every way possible. I shouldn't feel so at ease with Eric, hell I shouldn't even be around him yet here I am. What was it about him?

"Do you have any family?" Eric asked. I shook my head no and hoped he wouldn't ask anymore questions. "Do you have friends?"

I wasn't going to get out of any conversation with him. "Yes. Of course. And they're like my family too, so it all works out. Why do you ask?"

"I have no ulterior motive, other than wanting to learn more about you." I felt my heart begin to race a little, and I wondered if vampires were sensitive enough to pick up on that.

"Also, I have noticed that you are extremely guarded. I was curious to see if you ever let anyone in." He remarked and I found myself taken aback.

"That's quite an observation from spending a couple hours with me, don't you think?" I responded as sarcastically as I could. I didn't feel like getting lesson on myself from Eric Northman tonight.

"See? You're so cautious that you won't even entertain a casual conversation with me." He was completely turned towards me now and I couldn't shake the feeling that he was trying to see through me.

"It isn't that I won't entertain the conversation Eric." I turned to look him in the eye to make my point. "It's that I don't see the point of having it." His eyes narrowed and I realized now was a good time to start paying attention to the road.

"And why is that Genevieve?" I sighed as I tried to come up with a good answer. "Are you positive we are not lovers?"

"Where'd that come?" I asked, unable to hide my shock. He shrugged his shoulders.

"The way you act with me, sometimes it seems like you have a deep interest in me. Yet other times you seem to fear me. Plus there is that odd connection that cannot be explained." He sounded genuinely confused and I felt slightly better knowing he couldn't explain this either.

"Well I wish I could give you more interesting information, but it doesn't exist." I explained trying my best not to give him too much attitude. "We've only met twice to be completely honest."

"Twice?" He now seemed shocked. "Two times? You're sure?"

I laughed a little, trying to ward off any nervousness that was beginning to come out. "Unless we had encounters I wasn't present for, then yes. Once at your bar and once at my house. That was it."Eric took a minute to contemplate this before he turned away from me.

"What?" I asked. "Now you don't wanna talk to me?" Two minutes ago I didn't want to speak to him at all, and now I was finding myself stressed at the thought of ending the conversation.

Eric Northman was making me crazy.

"It is not that I don't want to continue it." His voice was lower now, and much more guarded than I was used to. "It is that I don't know what else to say."

His attitude had me at a loss for words and I decided not to push it anymore. I didn't understand why us meeting twice was such a big deal to him. I didn't like him treating me so coldly which, what the hell! Why did it matter how Eric treated me?

The rest of the trip home was silent, minus the low sounds of the radio. My stomach was in knots and for what felt like the thousandth time in only a couple weeks, and I couldn't help but wonder if I was on the road to giving myself an ulcer. Once we go to my house I didn't hesitate to jump out of the car and head for the door. My nerves felt on edge and I couldn't relax no matter what I did. I just needed to get the hell away from Eric and try to figure out what was going on with me. My hand was on the handle when I felt Eric's hands grab me around my waist.

"I don't think you are lying to me Genevieve, but I want you to try to explain this to me," His large arms were circling my stomach and his mouth was resting just behind my ear. "this doesn't feel like two meetings." His arms tightened around my waist and I heard him inhale deeply as he smelled my hair. "This feels much bigger than anything I can even begin to explain." The nerves that had been present for the ride home melted away and pooled to form a deep heat in the bottom of my stomach. My head instinctively leaned back against his chest and I looked up to meet his dark blue eyes. His black pupils were blown wide and starting to take over the blue of his eyes.

I looked toward his mouth and noticed his fangs were just beginning to extend past his bottom lip. His left hand ventured away from my stomach and reached for the side of my face to pull me closer. Our lips were so close, I could feel the coolness coming off of him. My eyes fluttered closed just as...

"Hooker, where the fuck have you been?!" ...Lafayette whipped open my front door.

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_Reviews are so greatly appreciated!_


	10. Chapter 10

AN: I don't think there is an excuse for almost a year of not updating, so... my apologies? Please? :) I'm going to try to continue.. let me know if anyone is still interested.

* * *

I had half a second to react by the time Lafayette whipped open the door and my first motion was to push Eric the hell of me. I didn't want to, honestly I was really getting into whatever was happening, but I knew I had to. Lafayette had way too big a mouth to see me all over some enormous vampire. As I went to push him away I realized... he was already gone. That made me look like a complete idiot as I pushed against air with my eyes closed.

"Girl, have you lost your damn mind? What the hell are you doing?" I whipped my head around to look at Lafayette who was looking at me like my hair was on fire.

"Um.. bugs. There was a really big bug. And I... was shooing it away?" Lafayette didn't look convinced, but it wasn't the first time I looked crazy doing something that made absolutely no sense so he didn't argue and opened the door for me to come in.

He gave me a hug and a kiss before plopping down on the couch, and grabbing a carton of ice cream he had sitting on the coffee table.

"A pint and a stack of tear-jerkers?" I asked as I walked over to the couch and saw the little set-up Lafayette had going on. He looked like he planned to stay for a while. There were pillows and blankets piled up on the couch, a bowl of popcorn and the ice cream and movies were laid out. Normally, this would be a night where Lafayette and I sat on the couch and drowned our sorrows with food, liquor and movies, but that wasn't going to work tonight. I was already freaking out, wondering where Eric was. I couldn't have him roaming around all night. Lord only knows the trouble he'd get himself into.

Scratch that. I _could_ have him roaming around all night. He was **not** my responsibility, but for my own self preservation I did wonder where he went.

"So you gonna join me or you just gonna stand there and stare out the window?" Lafayette asked, breaking me of another Eric-induced trance. I really, really needed to get a hold of that. Pronto.

"So what happened? Bad night at work?" Lafayette didn't work at Merlotte's tonight, so I knew he probably spent the night doing one of his illegal business ventures. If Sookie, Jason or Tara ever knew all the things Lafayette did? They'd probably die of mortification. I was the only one he ever talked to any of that stuff about.

"Y'know.. same ol' shit. Different fucking day. More guys thinking that just cause they give me some money they can do whatever the hell they want." I winced a little bit. I knew Lafayette could handle himself, but it did hurt a little bit to every time he told me all the shit he got into. He was better than all the things he put himself through... but I understood why he did it.

"Do I need to kick some ass?" I asked with a smile and he just laughed.

"You think I didn't kick some already? Girl, you know how I work." I smiled and reached for his spoon to take a bite of ice cream when something caught the corner of my eye. It was a quick movement, but something was there, in the porch. I glanced at Lafayette, but he was into the movie and didn't notice anything. I turned around quickly and saw the big blur moving towards the door. If that was Eric and he was planning on just coming in and joining Lafayette and I...

**_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_**

Oh lord help me. I tried to jump over the couch to get to the door before Lafayette could, but I wasn't quick enough.

"You expecting company?" He asked as he swung the door open.

"Who in the fuck are you?" Lafayette asked Eric in a way that did not imply even a bit of anger or fear. Lafayette obviously liked what he saw which... yeah I saw were that was coming from.

"Lafayette! So great to finally meet you!" Eric said quickly and Lafayette gave both me and him a 'WhatTheFuck' look. Now see, I was having one of those moments where everything feels like a dream. Only a few minutes before I was about to swap spit with the most powerful vampire in all of Louisiana and now I was standing in my living room, watching him shake hands with my best friend who wanted to jump his bones. Oh, and to make matters worse, Eric was speaking in a country accent. Pretty well actually, but that was besides the point. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets and his shoulders hunched which gave the illusion that he was about five inches shorter than he was, and definitely not so menacing.

"Um, this is.. um.. Eric." I responded and this night was so fucking weird I couldn't even give a proper lie without stuttering.

"Gen hasn't told you about me?" Eric asked with a dazzling smile. "I just moved into town, Gen and I work together. She's just been showing me around, and giving me someone to hang out with. She's told me all about you! From what I hear you know where to get the best everything in town?" Eric asked so well that I almost believed him myself.

"No, Gen hasn't told me shit about you, but the rest of that is true." Lafayette repsonsed and god damnit Eric had him hook, line and sinker. All he needed was a smile and a compliment and Lafayette was putty in his hands. "Damn girl, you hiding any other boys like this around? I want one for myself!" Lafayette asked me while reaching back to get his jacket and keys. Was he really leaving? In our whole time knowing each other I don't think I've ever gotten Lafayette out of my house so quickly.

"Aw, you sure you don't wanna stay?" Eric asked. His little accent thing was getting really fucking creepy, because it was perfect.

"Oh no, no, no. I want you two to be alone. All alone. You need to be alone with Gen here. **Alone**." Eric raised an eyebrow and motioned Lafayette to take a step forward so that he was right in front of Eric's face. He whispered something in his ear and the both of them laughed and Eric clapped him on the shoulder.

"Maybe we all can get drinks together next week?"

"Sounds great, baby. I'll be seeing you soon." Lafayette motioned for me to walk him out and pushed Eric in the door. We walked down the steps of my porch with him holding me close to whisper in my ear.

"Who in the hell is he? Where they hell you been finding that piece of fine, fine ass?"

See, this was kind of awkward. I'd never really had any guys around... protecting Sookie, dealing with fairies and rednecks didn't allow for a lot of time for a relationship. Luckily, Lafayette was too entranced with Eric to question anything.

"Well, he's just the new guy at work." Eric had already started that lie, so there was no use in trying to come up with a new one. "He's no one special. Just a friend. I totally forgot I told him to come over when he got off."

"You need to go get on that. No, no. Like, GO. GET. ON. THAT. Right now. Go. Now. GO!" Lafayette responded.

I didn't even get a word in before Lafayette was hugging me and blowing a kiss towards Eric who gave a little wave in response. What the hell.

When I walked back in the house Eric took off his new jacket and placed it over the back of the couch.

"You are so lucky it's dark in this house." I said while storming past Eric. I swear, I've known this man a week and he's already managed to become a bigger pain in the ass than Lafayette and Jason combined.

"I could smell his intoxication from outside, coupled with the low lighting I knew he would not be able to see my true nature."

"Pfff." Was the only reply I could come up as I opened a beer and sat at the kitchen table.

"Do you always drink so much alcohol? You do know it slowly eats away at your liver?"

"Thanks for your concern captain, but alcohol was the least of my worries."

"As far as I know, I am not the captain of any vessel. But if you don't mind me asking, what are your concerns, Ms. Laurent?"

The way Eric said my name made my stomach lurch in an uncomfortable way. I wasn't sure how to answer his questions. I had Niall and the rest of the Faes worried about Sookie, then I had Sookie herself drinking vampire blood. Lafayette now thought I was banging a giant I didn't really work with. Oh, and I was downing my last beer. Oddly enough though, all of that seemed to pale in comparison to the problem that was currently leaning against my kitchen counter.

Something Eric said to me outside while we were about to... well, do whatever we were going to do.

_This doesn't feel like two meetings. This feels much bigger than anything I can even begin to explain._

The more I thought about it, the more right it seemed. Even now, sitting in my kitchen nursing a beer, I didn't feel uncomfortable. I certainly didn't feel scared. I felt... peaceful. Calm. It was disconcerting. I never felt this way. Guarding Sookie my whole life had me constantly on edge. I never had time to relax, because I spent everyday wondering if something big and scary was coming around every corner.

I tried to shake myself out of whatever I was thinking. Eric was a vampire.. A really bad vampire. Who manipulated anything he could. Which got me thinking...

"What'd you say to Lafayette? When you whispered in his ear?"

Eric smiled.

"You really want to know?" I nodded. "I told him his ass looked fabulous in his jeans."

I waited for a grin to break out on Eric's face. But it never did. Here I thought Eric used his vampire-y ways to get on Lafayette's good side; turned out it was good old-fashioned compliments. I couldn't help but smile, because honestly? The vampire was good. Once my grin started, his did too. He seemed pleased with his accomplishments.

"I am glad I have made you smile, it looks very nice on you. Better than that permanent scowl that you seem to enjoy."

"What? I don't scowl."

"Yes, you do. But that is okay. We must simply work to fix it."

**_We_**. Amnesiac Eric was presumptuous in more ways that one. Which brought me back to that almost kiss from outside...

"I plan on discussing what happened outside, momentarily. But first, I wanted to give you this." Eric said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a long chain with a charm hanging off the bottom

"What is it?"

"It's a necklace. I found it outside of your back door while I was waiting to come in. It has a Fleur de Lis and initials on the back. JA.. something. The last letter is scratched out."

A Fleur de Lis. The initials. I knew that necklace. I couldn't forget that necklace.

"L."

"What?" Eric asked.

"The last letter, it's an L."

"How did you know?"

"Because... I know that necklace. It was my cousins."

"Oh. Well why didn't you say so to begin with? Here, would you like it back?" Eric asked, while passing the necklace towards me. I shook my head and stood up from the table. I needed to leave. I needed to get out of this house. Now.

"No. No. I never had that necklace."

"I'm sorry?" Eric asked. "Genevieve, I'm failing to see what the issue is. This is your cousin's necklace, correct? " I nodded. "Well, if you didn't have it, did he leave it here?"

I shook my head no.

"Genevieve, someone had to put this here. It was sitting right outside the door. Maybe someone knew it was it his and left it for him."

"No, Eric. Julien has been dead for years. No one left it for him."

Eric looked at the necklace.

"Then someone left it for you?"

I nodded. The look on Eric's face seemed to show he knew there was more to the story.

"Genevieve... when was the last time you saw this necklace?" Eric seemed to be choosing his words a little more carefully now. Expecting something scary, I suppose.

"When I buried him with it."

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Please, please don't give up on this story! After all these months it was a little difficult to get back into the groove of the story. But I already have a few more chapters ready to go, and they read much better than this one. Reviews would be extremely appreciated and helpful!


	11. Chapter 11

"Oh. Well, that certainly is interesting."

Amnesiac-Eric certainly had a way with words. Finding Julien's necklace conveniently placed outside my back door was more than interesting.

It was in-fucking-sane.

"I have to go to his grave. Someone must have broken into the grave. How the hell does someone even break into a grave? This was probably fucking vampires or-"

I was halfway out of the door when Eric stopped me. He put a hand on either side of my face in a gesture that felt oddly familiar.

"Relax, Genevieve. You must calm yourself."

"Calm myself? No. No. No. The last thing I need to do is calm myself." Eric took a step back and gave me a look that seemed to be part interest, part confusion.

"Very well then." He said while walking back inside the house. It was odd, but for some reason the only thing that seemed to remain the same about pre-amnesia Eric and post-amnesia Eric beyond his looks, was his confidence. Since he whipped on those sweatpants last night, he's been as confident as a Ken doll.

It was weird.

What was weirder though?

I completely fell for it. I'd never been around someone who was calmer and more composed than me. My whole life, I was the one who had to make sure I kept myself together. It was nice to look at someone else and notice they weren't freaking the hell out. I gave myself a couple seconds to regain my composure and headed back into the house.

I needed to keep my head screwed on with all this. I had so much going on right now, so much on top of my "normal" life, I felt like I was slowly drowning with no way to save myself. However Julien's necklace ended up at my doorstep was bad, _really_ bad. The necklace was buried with him and tightly connected to his own personal magic. For it to somehow end up at my house meant.. well, I'm not sure what it meant, but it was bad. Really bad.

When I walked in the house, I found Eric cleaning up my living room. The ice cream Lafayette had taken out was melted and leaving a ring on my coffee table and Eric had a container of bleach wipes and my garbage can next to him.

"Are you kidding me right now?"

Eric looked up, unamused.

"I really hope you are not going to object to me cleaning this... _mess._" The way Eric spit out the word mess made me snort.

"It's melted ice cream, Eric. It isn't a dead body."

Eric used his vampire speed to clean up the mess quickly, then appear right in front of me.

"A dead body would have been more enjoyable. Ice cream smells like milk, which is..." Eric paused for a second before letting out a full body shudder. "_Disgusting_."

"I didn't realize milk was so offending for vamps." At the very least, Eric provided much needed entertainment.

"It isn't. I don't think. I just hate it." Eric replied before walking outside taking the trash to the curb. How in the hell did he know tomorrow was my trash night?

I plopped down on my couch and placed a pillow over my head. Maybe I could suffocate myself. That be easier than having to deal with all of this.

"So, you said you would like to go to a grave? Shall we go now? The night will not last forever."

I groaned into the pillow. Take charge Eric needed to go somewhere. Last week he was walking around, leaving vampires shaking in their boots with fear, this week he's taking out my trash and offering to handle magical problems with me. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"I do think that the quicker we handle these problems, the better."

"Ughhhhhh." I decided that forming sentences wasn't something I was capable of.

"Five minutes ago you were incoherent with stress over finding your cousin's necklace."

"Ughhh."

"Ten minutes you were in shock with my bravado while meeting your friend."

"Ugh." His confidence was maddening.

"Fifteen minutes ago you were about to submit me to me completely as you fell under my spell."

That got me up. I sat up as quickly as possible and chucked the pillow towards Eric's head. He caught it effortlessly.

"You seemed inclined to throw pillows. That is fine with me, but I will warn you, I will catch it every time."

"I was not about to submit to you!"

Eric only smiled.

"I wasn't!"

"No, no. Of course you weren't."

Eric ket eye contact with me, never dropping his cocky smirk. I glared at him as long as I could, which made him burst out into laughter.

"Oh you think it's funny, you have no idea, bucko."

"Bucko? Must we resort to bucko when you are irritated?" Eric questioned.

"Yes, BUCKO."

"What an unfortunate nickname. May I ask exactly what I have no idea about?"

I paused. I didn't know. What could I say? You have no idea how bad I could curse you! Yeah, not really appropriate.

"What I could do to you." To hell with appropriateness.

Eric's smile died, but his eye contact remained. Since he'd been at my house, I hadn't been scared of him, but right then, with his eyes burning holes into mine.. I felt fear. It gripped at my stomach and twisted it until I lost my breath. This was Eric Northman. The most powerful vampire I'd ever met and I just told him he had no idea what I could do to him. Eric turned his head slightly, and before I knew it he was right next to me.

His mouth was right next to my ear and from my peripheral vision I could see his eyes were zeroed in on my neck. Well, that was that. I'd lived my life. Kinda unfulfilling to be honest with you. There was a hell of a lot more I wanted to do, but guess I shouldn't have threatened a powerful vampire while sitting unarmed in my living room. I wondered what they were going to do with my house. I swear, if Jason somehow ended up with it, I was going to be pissed. His crazy ass would have this place burned down in-

"You're right."

The sound of Eric voice was unexpected and I jumped in the air at the sound. Eric's hands found themselves around my wrist and I took the opportunity to look him in the eye. I expected to see.. well, I expected to see the look that a hungry animal has in their eyes, but that wasn't the look I was met with. Instead, all I saw was confusion.

"I'm right?" I asked and Eric only nodded. "You're the big scary vampire. What could I do to you?" Eric let go of my wrists and brought a hand to my face. As soon as he did, that same knot in my stomach returned that was there whenever he acted like this with me. Whenever he touched me intimately my heart seemed to beat at a different rhythm.

"I might be a big scary vampire," Eric whispered while he cupped my face, "but you're the big scary witch."

* * *

When people think of witches it's normally all 'Toil and Trouble' and 'Cauldron Bubble' and pointy hats and noses with warts. Either that or they think of Wiccan religion. My kind of witches though? Not even close to either. My bloodline of witches came from two couples of Fae and Human relations. The faeries were excommunicated from the royal bloodline for carrying on relationships with mortals and cutting to the chase and past all the interesting stuff, the mix of anger and love between the two couples allowed them to become sorcerers. In today's world we call ourselves witches, because... hey, it's easier to spell. I can't vouch for the story, but it's what they teach us when we're children, so it's all I got.

Now, the reason my life sucks so much is because somewhere in our bloodline we were indebted to the Faery population for all of eternity. Somebody saved somebody else's life, yada-yada-yada, it is now our job to protect the royal family until one of us is extinct. As per our thousand year old agreement, we aren't supposed to let anyone know of our true nature.

Since Vampires have come out of the coffin there have been a few cases of witches around the world telling their true nature. But no one has ever heard from them again, so that was that.

I wasn't planning on telling Eric about being a witch. In fact, since the moment I saw him I was dead set against him ever finding out I knew anything about magic. Since the beginning of our existence vamps have been trying to get witches on their side, with no luck. As far as magical creatures go, witches are the ones who fit in most easily among mortals, something that vampires coveted for years and years. Now that their out of the coffin though, vamps are feeling like assholes and just want to throw their power in the faces of witches.

When I met Eric, I figured he'd be able to sense my true nature but I wasn't sure. That night in Fangtasia he obviously knew something was up, but between Sookie and myself his radar seemed to be a little off; with all the magic swirling around, he couldn't place it. Plus, I cast a spell on myself that was supposed to to cross his wires, so I thought I was in the clear. Once Amnesia-Eric showed up, I wasn't worried about him finding out about the witch thing because his mind was so screwed up there was no way he would be able to figure it out. Even earlier tonight when he saw I didn't react to his mention of witches, I didn't think he'd actually think _I _was a witch.

I obviously read that situation wrong.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. I'm going to be hanged. They are going to send me to trial and burn me at the stake. Oh my god. I'm going to get my job taken away. Oh my god. Oh my god."

I was pacing my living room, Eric was sitting with his legs crossed nursing a True Blood. Every once in a while he would raise an eyebrow, but for the most part he sat there staring.

"When did you find out? Actually, no. Don't tell me. Don't tell me. Then I'll realize how much I suck. I'm such a failure. I've never failed. I don't fail. But I've failed. Eric freakin' Northman knows I'm a witch. Oh my god."

My list of problems seemed to be ever growing, but this whole 'Eric knowing I was a witch' thing jumped straight to the top. No one knew I was a witch, no mortals at least and certainly not anyone in this town. But now Eric knew.

"I cant believe this. How did I let this happen. Oh. My. God."

I finally sat down in the chair across from Eric. My feet hurt from pacing so much.

"Were any one of those questions? Your inflection seemed to designate statements and rhetorical questions, but just checking." I shrugged my shoulders and Eric nodded. "Wonderful. Well, now that we've established your favorite words are 'oh', 'my' and 'god' can we move forward?" Eric asked and I laughed in response.

"You don't understand, Eric. I could be killed for this. Witches are not allowed to let people know their true nature, let alone vampires! Let alone the Sheriff of Area 5!"

"I'm not the Sheriff of any area as of right now, I think you can see that for yourself." Eric was right about that. He wasn't a Sheriff now, but he would be.

"You might not be now, but how long can that possibly last? You will get your memory back and then I'll be fucked." Eric snorted.

"How eloquent of you. What makes you think me knowing your a witch will be a bad thing? Am I that scary and horrible?" I flashed a look at Eric and his face seemed to fall. "Oh. Well, unless we are mortal enemies I give you my promise that I will not use your nature against you." I scoffed and shook my head. This Eric could promise me the moon, but it wouldn't change who he would turn into eventually.

"When did you find out?" I said I didn't want to know, but I lied. I did.

"I don't know." Eric responded. I wanted to throw something at him again, but I knew he'd catch it so it was pointless.

"Right. What you just felt it?" Eric nodded. I was about to throw a sarcastic retort back, but I looked at Eric's face and realized... he was telling the truth. "Since when?" I asked.

"The first night. I knew as soon as I saw you. I knew once you saw the marks on my back. I knew once I slept in your house. I knew with certainty when I mentioned witches and you didn't seem scared." My stomach knots were back. "I can't explain it, but I just _knew_."

"If you knew from the beginning, weren't you worried that I was the one who cursed you?"

"No." Eric responded quickly. "I trusted you implicitly from the beginning. I knew then and I know now that you had nothing to do with my curse." I nodded and sat there, unsure of everything. All this information was overwhelming and confusing.

"Everything, all of this, it's just.. I don't know what's going on. I don't know what to do." Eric stood up and waved a hand in the air.

"No worries, Genevieve. I have a wonderful idea." Somehow I doubted that, but I took the bait anyway.

"And what's that?"

"We must make a list."

* * *

If one day I find out that Eric Northman became Sheriff of Area 5 and an extremely successful business person because he made organized lists, I just might try to become a little more organized.

"Logically, it makes sense to list things in order of personal importance so what do you think is your top priority in your life?"

I looked over at this list that Eric was making on the back of my old shopping list.

**Genevieve Laurent's Problems**

_as noted by Eric Northman_

_1:_

"Does it really have to say that it was noted by you?"

"Of course not, but I enjoy my name so it shall remain. Now back to the matter at hand. Your number one problem?"

"You." I answered without hesitation. Eric raised a brow and I shrugged my shoulders. It was honestly the truth. While the other issues might be a little scarier, none of them were currently sitting at my kitchen table.

"Okay, so number one issue in your life is..." Eric held up the list to show me what he wrote, "Extremely handsome Vampire who wants nothing more than a place to stay and is willing to offer help of many kinds and isn't causing any sort of direct problems. Does this sound sufficient?" He didn't wait for a response. "Wonderful. Number two problem?"

"The necklace thing."

"Yes, dead cousin's necklace making it's way from the grave. Three?"

"Best friend is dating..." I hesitated. I wasn't sure if I'd let that slip yet. Eric scoffed.

"Best friend is lucky enough to have a vampire, yet I am annoyed by the concept." Guess he put two and two together with that one. "Four?"

"Three dead women in the area."

"Ah yes, three dead women whose murders are unjustly being placed upon wonderful Vampire of problem number one. Anything else?" I racked my brain. There was the whole Niall issue, but I really didn't feel like getting into that right now. It was bad enough Eric knew about me, but I didn't need to go run my mouth about Sookie and her extended family.

"Nope. That about sums it up."

"Well judging from this list, I'd say you really only have two true problems."

"Wait, wait! Let me guess? Number one and number three aren't real problems?" Eric smiled with a bit of fang.

"Exactly. Now what is a problem is that all the other problems seem to be connected by one thing..."

"Witches." I responded and Eric nodded his head.

"I'm glad we share the same mindset. The deaths, the framing me for murder, the obvious curse, all these things seem to point to witches." I didn't want to admit it, but Eric was right. I didn't think there were any other creatures who could have done all those things and not have gotten caught by now.

"I'll have to find whoever is responsible."

"Well yes, can't you just use your magic for that?" Eric asked and I just scoffed.

"If it was only that easy."

"It's not? What's the use of being a witch then?" I glared at Eric as he smiled and let his hand drift to my forearm where it rubbed to calm me.

Wait what?

I whipped my arm away from Eric as quickly as I could as he shook his head, as if to clear it.

"I am sorry." He said in a voice that sounded much smaller than his own. "I have a desire to touch you." Well, at least that feeling was mutual. "Constantly." Eric added and I hoped when I sucked in my breath it wasn't too loud. All the sudden, that breathless feeling that coursed through me when Eric almost kissed me was back. I watched his face and the eerie calm of the lack of breathing enticed and scared me.

We were sitting across from each other, but we seemed impossibly close, yet at the same time I felt like I was too far away from him. My hands were itching to find their way into his blonde hair, to kiss along the column of his neck, to lick the scars along his arms.

I shook myself out of my day dream. I glanced towards the clock and saw it was 4:45. Where had the time gone?

"I need to go to sleep. It's almost sunrise, so you do too. I'm sorry. All this is just-"

"Go to sleep, Genevieve. We will handle our problems tomorrow." I nodded and took one last look at Eric. His eyes looked as confused and exhausted as me, but they also looked... predatory. With that thought, I ran up to my room quicker then I ever had in my life.

As I laid in bed one thing kept coming up and nagging me incessantly, above everything that had gone on. In fact, it was that one thought that kept me up well past sunrise, once I knew Eric was fast asleep below me.

All I could think about was Eric's arms. Placing kisses along the scars that webbed together on the inside of his biceps. They were thin scars that told no history of where they came from, but they were powerful; deep, long and many, they were painful to look at. They were the kind of scars that told you something about someone, told you how strong they were, how much they could survive.

I was learning to deal with the little crush I had on Eric, so I wasn't bothered by the fact that I was preoccupied with Eric's arms.. that wasn't the problem.

The problem was I never saw on any scars on Eric's arms. But they were there. Somehow, I _knew_ they were there.

* * *

A/N2: We're finally getting somewhere.. Woo hoo! I'm very close to 100 reviews and it would make me so happy (and it would feed the muse) if I could make it past that marker! To those of you who take the time to review, it is **so** greatly appreciated. For any story you read on here, remember it is your reviews that keep the authors going!


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